Schoolyard Antics
by Yaoi-and-Arson
Summary: Is being the new kid tough? No, not at all when you have a nice friendly Demyx dragging you around! Leave it to Axel to complicate cake though. In fact, leave it the whole gang to complicate Man Hunt!
1. Good Morning World

**Rated M for language, some possible partying, and future lemons. You know, the good stuff.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts for I am but a lowly starving artist… Minus the starving part. There will be plenty of time for that in college.**

**Main pairings: Zemyx, AkuRoku, XemSai. Side but equally important pairings: Seiner, whatever you call Zack/Cloud, SoRiku. Okay! First chapter! This is just a little introductory for some of our important characters and their morning routines. Not gonna lie, Zexion's routine basically mirrors my inner monolog from this morning, but as I was cursing my beloved friend, I realized, **_**jackpot! **_**We now have a prologue! God bless harmful addictions! Now with the formalities out of the way (What formalities?) I give you…..**

Schoolyard Antics

**Zexion**

Three…. Two….One…. Beep beep beep beep! Beep beep beep beep! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Alright!" I internally yelled as the alarm got louder and increasingly annoying with every interval. I got up and crossed the room slamming the off button on the infernal contraption before thoughtfully snatching the carton of cigarettes strategically placed behind it. I grimaced as I also snatched up a pair of scissors before strolling on over to my window to begin my morning routine. I pulled one stick de cancer out of the box, not taking the time to turn on a light, and snipped what I presumed to be about half the filter off. It wasn't because I was super addicted or anything, it was just that the person who had bought me the pack was an idiot. As someone who would usually smoke Marlboro Red 100s, I wasn't exactly pleased when I was handed Marlboro light Menthols instead. Okay, so maybe they weren't an idiot, just someone who really wanted me to quit. But for the sake of my addiction, they're a raging _DIPFUCK! _Moving on.

I lit the stick, nearly singing my hair in the process, and took a long drag. The mint hit me like a truck hitting a hooker. That's right folks, this was a thirty pointer. Oh GOD it was bad! Last time I ever ask my brother for anything! After effectively killing the stick to the point of burning my poor fingers, I put it out before flicking it into the neibors yard. I proceeded to turn on my lap, flinching away from the hell fire that sprung forth (kinda) and started rummaging through my drawers searching for the perfect out fit for my first day at a new school... Not that it was for the people or anything…. I'm just generally very vain.

I decided on a nice tight pair of black jeans and red short sleeved shirt with a pin striped vest and a black studded belt. It seemed simple enough. Wasn't too flashy and it fit my figure nicely.

I then proceeded to the bathroom to partake in a nice soothing shower; avoiding the congestion of my house holds average mornings. Ever since dad was laid off, though, there generally wasn't too much traffic in that area since he no longer had any reason to wake up. However, when it came to morning preparations my brother was, quite frankly a princess, so it was better to get all use of the bathroom out of my system before he woke up to avoid the epic battle for hot water.

I stripped what little clothes I wore to bed and stepped into the shower, turning the knob to the hottest setting. I sighed at the sudden burn, immersing myself in the pure bliss.

_Will this semester be any better? Pleeeease let this semester be better!_

**Axel**

BEEEEEEEEEEEP!

I practically crushed the alarm, not even bothering to hit snooze.

"Fuck it! I'm not going to school today!" I groaned pulling the sheets clean over my head.

It didn't take long for me to fall back asleep.

**Roxas**

"Good morning world and all who inhabit it!" screeched my twin tearing me out of a deep sleep. Who needs an alarm clock when your brother's a morning person? After throwing a pillow at his head, missing, and possibly killing my beta and bamboo bowl with my terrible aim, he giggled then slammed the door shut, screaming an assortment of "Dow, ow, oo, ouch's!'' down the hall, certainly waking our older brother and possibly our neibors in all four directions for good measure.

"Fucking first day of a new semester messing up my winter break," I groaned peeling myself out of bed and wandering over to my dresser, selecting the first pair of pants and T-shirt I saw. I could shower tomorrow, maybe I'd get some peace for a second letting Mr. Sunshine and Unicorns have his today. I glanced briefly at my reflection in the mirror on my door. Bed head: Check. "Perfection," I mumbled slipping out of my room to join brother dearest in the kitchen. He was happily making pancakes…. Pink pancakes, while humming to the tune of "Superstar" by Toy Box.

Weird. I mean Sora was happy, but usually it took him two hours upon waking and four cups of coffee to reach this point. Must mean he didn't sleep last night. At least it explains why I didn't hear him come in.

He grabbed a large stack of his creations, dumped far too much syrup on top, then added a large glomp of whip cream and a ton of sprinkles before practically skipping it over to me. "The most important meal of the day! Serving it up, Roxas' way! Bop!" He sang before placing them on the table in front of me then returning to continue his fine work.

I blinked, taking a moment to analyze this girliest of breakfasts as Sora continued humming to the tune of that infernal song. "Sora, isn't it a little early in the morning for you to suck this much?" okay, so I'm not quite as much of a morning person as he was.

"What? I just made you breakfast! I don't suck! You suck ya grouchy emo bastard!"

"No, you suck, and your suckitude is giving me an angry rash," I stated, forking the stack of what I'll now be calling the vomit of a thousand gay wood fairies.

Then the little bitch took my plate right out from under me. "Suck this!" I yelled, flipping him off only to have my finger bent back, painfully by a soggy, bitter Cloud, sporting a towel around his hair, oh so fashionably. "No one will be sucking anything in this house, so drop it both of you and eat your frilly gay breakfast," he said releasing my finger. I sighed in relief and Sora replaced my dish, sticking his tong out at me smugly before handing Cloud his own stack of pancakes. He then proceeded to turn off the stove and join us at the table, all while picking up where he left off humming that friggen song.

Both Cloud and I stared daggers at him chewing while we silently but harshly judged. Feeling our eyes on us, he halted mid bite in awkward discomfort. "I know I'm cute, but eye raping is going a little far guys."

"Sora, why are you so happy this early? And why is my breakfast fruitier than the Las Vegas strip?" Cloud asked. He and I had about the same morning mentality, which guaranteed he was about as ready to end himself as I was. Oh, and in case you're confused, most of the main roads in Vegas are named things like Rainbow, or Tropicana, or Flamingo.

"Finally you asked! Riku totally asked me out last night!" My God how loud could one boy be at six in the morning?

"Wait, Riku? Bluish-Silver haired arrogant basketball star Riku?" Cloud seemed surprised as he asked. He knew quite a bit about the kids at school because he had an internship with the English department under Mr. Sparrow: possibly the easiest teacher in the school. Or you know, the world. I guess it's a matter of opinion.

"That's him!" he beamed in pure delight.

"So is that why you left and didn't come home last night?" I asked nibbling my pancakes in interest. Sure Sora was cute, but was he high class top of the school cute?

"I was too home! I just slept on the couch so I wouldn't wake you!"

"Ah-ha, and what exactly were you doing that kept you out so late?"

Sora's smile dropped to a piercing glare. "Not what you're thinking low life!"

"How could you know what I'm thinking? Sounds like someone has a guilty conscious."

"Cuz I know you!" He screeched in an all knowing tone.

"Well did you have fun?" Cloud chimed in rising from the table to pour himself a cup of coffee. Black as my shirt, probably to wash down all that sugar.

"Yeah! Tons! He took-"

"Well I'm glad cuz your curfew is 9 o'clock now. Enjoy." He said taking a sip then making his way back to his bedroom.

"WHAT? You can't do that! That's not fair! Shouldn't Roxas have one too? What do you think I am anyway?"

"Thanks for the breakfast, it was delicious," Cloud said, waving Sora's little fit off like an angry fly. Before disappearing into the chasm that is his room.

"Can you believe him? He doesn't trust me at all!"

"Why you trying to bring me down with you?" I asked taking one last bite of my pancakes before clearing both mine and Cloud's places.

"We're the same age! We should have the same curfew!"

"Well, I'm more trustworthy, so don't put me on your level."

"You mean you're more lonely…." He sneered.

"You say tomato…."

I mimicked my older brothers actions, pouring myself a cup of black coffee taking a small test sip. Och! Fucking burning hot!

"Take your shower. I'm sure your new boyfriend doesn't **CENSORED **while you're** CENSORED **and **CENSORED** in** CENSORED **out the window. It's probably better that you be clean." I said leaving him there turning all sorts of shades of red.

**Riku **

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

I smacked my alarm effectively knocking it off its perch.

"Five more minutes…."

**Saix **

Bzzzzz….. Bzzzzz…..

I clenched my fist around the device in my hand. Morning already? It feels like I've only slept for a few minutes. Without even cracking an eye, I opened my phone pressing the end button allowing myself another five minutes before the first back up alarm went off.

Then I dozed off.

Bzzzzz….. Bzzzzz…..

I repeated the process. I still had three more alarms after all, and it never took me too long to get ready in the mornings.

Once again, I dozed off.

~Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy  
(Hey, what up girl?)  
Put my glasses on, I'm out the door - I'm gonna hit this city (Let's go)~

My eyes shot open. Okay, who wants to die?

I once again flicked the phone open, sitting up in bed and pressing the end button, then taking the time to cancel the last two alarms. Knowing perfectly well who'd dare mess with my phone, I then clicked speed dial 2.

"_Hello?" _came the voice of my beloved younger brother. His tone was low. Clearly my call had woken him.

"I'm not amused Riku." I stated, allowing a sliver of annoyance to escape my lips.

"_What? I thought a little 'K-E-dollar sign-ha' was just what you needed to wake up in the morning," _he retorted.

"Please refrain from meddling with any of my personal belongings. Doing so will call for severe punishment."

"_Oh yeah, and what might that be?" _

"I'll crucify you upside down," I said not missing a beat. I heard him laugh just as I pressed end. Stretching, I felt light headedness come over me as I allowed my body to fall back to the bed. Today was the first day of a new semester. So, shall we once more go through the droll nonsense that North Twilight High School practically oozed?

"I guess we must." I mumbled once again pulling myself up, this time making my way out my door and to the bathroom.

**Back to Axel**

"Wake up yo! New semester! You can't miss it!"

I clenched under my blankets. "Shut up Reno! I'm not going!"

"What do you mean you're not going? Get your lazy ass up! It's not an option!"

I could hear him jiggling the door knob. Yeah right! He knows I always lock my doors. Eighteen years with an older brother had taught me well. Never again was I going to wake up to a tarantula crawling across my sheets or my phone and iPod duct taped to the kitchen ceiling or my clothes hanging from the tree outside. Not that I wasn't the one to start shit every once and a while, he just always seemed to end it.

_Click!_

Wait, what?

Before I could comprehend the situation, Reno was on top of me, attempting to rip me out of my nice soft bed. Fuck if I was going to take it though! I started kicking in protest, the sheets ripping from the edges of the bed. I tried swinging my body around to throw him off, but he got me in a head lock first.

"How the fuck did you learn to pick locks?"

"Doesn't matter yo! Now get ready! Isn't there some pretty blond waiting for you at school or something?" he said in a teasing tone. I regret ever telling him that, drunk or not. Not only was it the worst way to come out of the closet, but it was the most effective motivation I had to quit skipping school and Reno knew it. "Who knows, maybe today he'll actually talk to you and your creeping days will be over!" He sneered.

"Fuck you!" I said punching him off of me. Then rising from the now destroyed bed and walking to the door.

"Hey where you going?" He called after me.

"Where do you think? I'm getting ready! But you're driving me to school today!" I shouted back.

"Word!"

**Woot! I did it! I had some trouble figuring out how I was going to set this up for a minute there, but I think it turned out okay. Please read and review! I will be awaiting your opinions! Next chapter will be up soon!**


	2. If It Were Possible

**Chu! I got the next chapter up! I can feel less guilty about my life now! Righty-o, shall we commence with the reading? Please review after so I don't go to bed feeling like a failure!**

**Rated M cuz I'm awesome like that. For legitimate reasons see Chapter One.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts because as it turns out I do not have significant awesomeness like I claimed. And the lies keep coming!**

Schoolyard Antics

**Roxas**

Sitting alone against my locker, I couldn't help pondering just how lazy I am. It's the first day back, so I can get away with sleeping through all my classes, right? My eyes lingered on the schedule I'd been handed this morning. History, English…. And P.E. fourth period. He's not going to make us run the first day back is he?

"Actually he might." I muttered to myself. "That's just like him."

Coach Wallace has never been one of my favorite teachers. We have a history. I have to admit though; he's good at what he does! Or at least, he would be if he got paid to piss on my dreams.

The almost nonexistent sound of dainty footsteps graced my ear. If anyone else were in this hall with me, I'd never have caught it. Tucking the paper into my pants pocket, I turned my head in greeting to my company. Namine. She's one in a set of triplets who all look exactly the same. I remember grade school and how each of those girls fought every day to be noticed not as a one of three, but as an individual girl with individual interests. Today each girl has different hair styles with night and day personalities and specific tastes in fashion. Namine however, with her undyed hair, quiet personality and simple yet elegant fashion sense shown brighter than either of her sisters.

"Good morning Roxas! I missed you over break! How are you?" she asked sweetly, standing shoe to shoe in front of me.

"I fucken hate Spongebob," I replied bitterly.

"What?" she asked with a confused smile.

"Nothing."

"Oh."

Random, Yes. But she's used to that sort of thing, "What first period do you have?"

"Me? Uh…." I mentally reopened my schedule. "I have English first and Latin second."

"I thought you didn't get Latin," she said quizzically.

"I don't but I managed to pass first semester and I need the credit so I figure I can do it again."

"Well then that's good I guess," she said with a giggle. The nice thing about Namine was that everything she did was soothing. It felt like heaven with all the chaos happening now a days.

On the other side of the scale was Hayner. There was always a certain amount of attention he required for minimal function. With him, if it wasn't big, bold, and out there, then there's no purpose in doing it. He's not a complete attention whore though. It's more like he's an idiot. A big idiot who makes all his decisions based on instinct rather than logic. But he's my idiot and I won't trade him for anything!

"Move, I need in there."

There's my walking time bomb now! Complete with Thing One and Thing Two close behind. Our little family is now complete!

I groaned. "I'm like, too lazy for my life right now man. Can't you just cut a hole in the top or something?" I asked rolling my head back and looking at my friend.

Ouch.

"Shit dude! What happened to your face? The usual?" I asked, standing aside so he could reach the locker we shared.

"Yeah. Stupid Seifer got me on my way to school. God it's January! You'd think it'd get too cold for his bull shitery every once in a while!" he ranted. He and Seifer had been fighting for as long as I'd known them, which was a long time, believe me. Man, do they even know why they hate each other anymore?

I snatched a tissue from the locker and gently dabbed his bleeding lip. He recoiled in response. Seifer must be in a bad mood today. Generally he didn't aim for the face. Considering the bruise under Hayner's right eye, which darkened a little more every second, I'd say some shit went down.

"You know Hayner, it's not good that you get jumped, but it's _really_ not good that you scream profundities about your attacker's mother. It makes them angry!" stated Olette less than entertained. Pence nodded in agreement, which was messed up cuz I know for a fact that whatever Hayner said, he probably was right up there with him, egging him on.

"Yeah, well, he started it and I'm just really not in the mood today."

"You're never in the mood," I assured.

"Fuck you too," he said, throwing his books in our locker and looking at his own schedule. I glanced over his shoulder to see if we had any new classes together this semester. "Hey, we both have P.E. fourth!" I said.

"You know who else has P.E. fourth?" Namine questioned. She looked like she had a dirty little secret that she just had to tell.

"Who?"

"I swear to god if you say-"

"Yep! It's Seifer! May all your dreams come true!" she burst out happily. Why happily? I don't know. Namine was the T.A. for the ladies in the office, so it makes sense that she'd know our classes (she defiantly snooped). She was always fluent with what was happening in the school; inside information was her drug. She rarely gossiped, but she always knew more than she led on. This was the not-so-nice thing about Namine.

"Shit really? And the others?" I said, irritated with the news.

"Well, his regular friends aren't in that class, but there's Waka and Tidus,"

Resident Stoners of sophomore class. I was okay with them.

"And there's also like Marluxia, Saix, Larxene and Demyx."

"Are there really a bunch of upperclassmen?" I asked tensely. Namine shrugged.

"They left that credit for this long, they can't help it," Olette chimed in. She was doing the exact same thing. By her senior year she'd need two P.E. classes a day.

"Well thank you." I said sneering as the bell rang. "You guys still have English, right?" I asked turning to Pence and Olette. The only reason people were moved out of their core classes in the middle of the year was because they were either failing or a disruption. Both Pence and Olette had great grades, and the teachers loved them, so I already knew the answer before either could reply.

"Yep! Let's go!" Pence beamed as we said our goodbyes to Hayner and Namine and headed off. Entering the first room at the top of the stairs on the second floor, I immediately made my way to the back right corner where I always sat in class. Olette and Pence took their seats directly in front of me as usual which was preferred for maximum visual obstruction from the teacher. This way I could sleep. Cloud sat at Mr. Sparrow's desk, boredly twisting in the teacher's rustic wooden swirly chair. Yes, swirly chairs can be rustic.

Then the second bell rang, starting my day. Joy.

Mr. Sparrow burst in the room three minutes late spurting some sort of "Welcome back." Before telling us how his vacation went then proceeding to ask us about ours.

I love long days. They're great for a teenager's sanity.

**Saix**

I arrived at school fifteen minutes before the bell, as usual. I drove Riku in my dark blue Camryto the sophomore entrance, also as usual. Next year we'd use the upper classmen entrance together, but I'd still have to drive my youngest brother to the freshman hallway. That's right, I have four brothers, and we all have a lot to live up to. Our father's an important business figure in town with a lot of respect and a lot of enemies, it was crucial in his eyes that we do NOTHING to put a stain on our prestigious family name. Be that as it may we still manage to do just that one way or another every once in a while. Not on purpose of course, mischief just seemed to follow us.

I parked my car in my usual parking spot and headed to my designated entrance. Accepting the schedule being handed to me by this year's class president, an incredibly bright girl with glasses and slight confidence issues, I headed straight for my locker before opening the paper and glancing over my selected courses for the semester. No course came to surprise me because I had inevitably fought to keep every class the same. Creative writing first, followed by A.P. History, Anatomy, P.E., lunch, Trig, homeroom, T.A. for Anatomy and then Spanish. Just how I like it.

I let my eyes linger on the two Anatomy classes before opening my locker and shifting through my books. That class was my favorite. It wasn't because of the dissection or anything. I could care less about dead cats; it was the teacher I liked. Mr. Xemnas is the only thing about school that interests me. Pathetically, it's been that way since my freshmen year when he started working here. He's young with a commanding personality and strikingly orange eyes that pierce like daggers. Now don't get me wrong. I know I'm his student and nothing else. I won't spout any nonsense about love or faith; I'm just saying he has so much more of my respect and admiration than anyone else in my life.

The bell rang. Marvelous! In a matter of hours I'd be only feet away from my favorite teacher once more, gazing into those deadly eyes! The thought pumped me up so much I could skip to first period! I refrained however because I'm clearly not Demyx and I like my self-esteem just the way it is.

**Axel**

I snatched my schedule from the girl handing them out at the junior entrance. Reno dropped me off literally as the bell was ringing. His classes didn't start for another hour since he now attended community college, so he took his sweet time getting me here today. Oh, and also my Starbucks went cold ten minutes ago. Dude, what's up with that?

I made my way to my locker, side stepping four pairs of morons hugging in the middle of the hall and at least six others that just didn't know how to walk. Finally reaching my destination, I threw my cup into a nearby trashcan then hurriedly opened my locker. I didn't need to look at my schedule to know I had Government first. Acting accordingly I grabbed my text book and turned to find myself face to face with my favorite peppy brainwashed robots.

"Way to barley make it Axel, we thought you weren't going to be here today," the sandy blond said in a deviously sweet tone.

"Tch! You're lucky I even came!"

After slamming my locker shut I walked off with the two too our first class. Rikku and Yuffie were possibly the happiest people I'd ever met in my life. If you add their "Freshy" who's "Just so cute they want to put her in their pocket," to the equation, it was like watching three glowing clouds of glitter and cotton candy fluttering around in some happy world I'd never understand. These two are senior though, and the only reason they even know I exist was because I'm best friends with one of their brothers.

"Demyx is here today, right?" I asked the sandy blond as the three of us maneuvered ourselves to our designated classroom.

"Yep! He was looking for you too!" she replied in a sing song voice.

"He was? Woops. I hope he's not mad."

"Did he text you?"

"Uh….."

I slid my phone out of the pocket of my skin tight jeans then flipped it open. Six new text messages. All from Demyx. Weird, I thought I had it on vibrate.

I read each text: '_Hey! Are you here yet?' 'Are you skipping again?' 'You need to get here now! I want you to meet someone!' 'Did you know Riku is gay? I just saw him making out with some random guy!' 'Wait, are you mad at me and that's why you aren't responding? I'm sorry Axel! I didn't think you'd notice that it was gone!'_

"So that's a yes?" asked his bubbly sister watching me scan each text.

"Yep," I said opening a new message and writing a response. '_Hey! I am now, no I'm not, Who is it?, of course idiot, and WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU TAKE FROM ME YOU WORM?'_

I flipped my phone shut, "Do I really have to baby sit that boy?" I asked irritated.

"Yep! Have you ever ignored an Al Bhed before? It's bad luck!"

"It really, really is," nodded her raven haired friend in agreement.

"Well, at least now I'll have something to blame it on."

"Your bad luck? Like the fact that you're here today?" asked Yuffie sarcastically.

"Na….. Well, kinda. My brother picked my lock then forced me to wake up this morning using dirty tactics. It kills, I swear."

"Sad! So he just doesn't want you to miss school?"

"Basically. That's how he got held back his sophomore year. So now he drives me every day so I won't make the same mistake."

"Aw that's so nice!" the perky blond chimed as we entered the classroom, "He's just looking out for you!"

"Whatever, I just don't want to be woken up by his fists anymore," I responded, moving to my seat in the very back of the room. The girls of course sat up front, leaving our conversation to hang for now.

**Demyx**

I entered the building with my sister. My sister who is a terrible driver. I'm pretty sure her car cries itself to sleep every night out of sheer joy for making it through another day. I probably would too if someone nearly drove me into three different cement trucks and a playground in the fifteen minutes it takes to get to school.

Why do so many people need cement at eight in the morning?

Personal status update! I need sleep! I was up all last night! I had songs that just needed to be written and chords that just needed to be played. During break that's how I spent my nights, but it certainly wouldn't help anymore now that school's started up; and way too fast if you ask me!

Okay, so it's my fault I'm tired, but I still think we shouldn't have school yet. I stood tapping my foot as a girl at the table labeled "Juniors" sifted through the thick stack of schedules before handing me mine respectively. I flashed her a smile which she eagerly returned before both my sister and I proceeded deeper into the dreaded place of learning.

"M-kay! I'm gonna go find my freshy and soul mate. See you later Demy!" Rikku announced saluting me then heading to the cafeteria.

"Right," I guess I'll go find Axel then.

I walked up a couple hallways, passing all sorts of people eating, gossiping, and sitting all along the walls.

_Maybe he'd be upstairs._

As I headed toward the main stair case, my eyes were drawn immediately to the confused looking guy sitting on a middle step against the railing. His black bangs hid half his face revealing one eye that glanced shyly from the paper in his hand, to the visible signs hanging above each hall on the first floor, then back to the paper. How cute! All trying to figure things out on his own! I made a bee line right for him.

"Hey! You're new right? I'm Demyx! Need help with something?" I asked, keeping my distance at first. God knows there are some emos you just don't want to say hi to.

"Uh…" he stuttered. And then he blushed. He tried to hide behind those bangs, the schedule he'd been holding crinkling under the weight of his grip. If it were possible I would have puked my life out right then and there. This guy was just too cute!

Out of pure instinct I dropped my schedule and glomped him. That's when his brother entered the picture. "Aw, Zexy! How adorable! You're already making friends!"

He detached himself from me instantly turning to his taller, stronger sibling. "Shut it Zack, I don't even know him," he mumbled. I wonder if his face was that red from shock or the embarrassment of being embraced by a stranger in the hallways.

"Well, he's defiantly friendly enough! Ask him to show us around!" the one named Zack suggested as if I weren't even here.

The little cutie paused in consideration. Did this really take so much thought? After a few seconds he turned to me with a _'would that be alright?'_ sort of look. Puke my life out part two!

"Okay!" I checked the clock on my phone. I had about twelve minutes to show these two where to go, and maybe if I was lucky I'd run into Axel!

I examined both lists of classes. "Right, so one of you has Government first, the other has Algebra, and you both have the same homeroom. That's it there!" I said pointing to a door at the top of the stairs. "It's just at the top of these steps; let's go say hi to your teacher!" I said leading the way.

"HIDE THE ALCOHOL! PROFESSOR VEXEN'S COMING!" I screamed bursting through the door with both boys behind me. I found myself face to face with his assistant instead. "Oh! Hi Cloud!"

"Hi. He's not here yet, come back later," he said showing minimal interest.

"Aw, really? I wanted to introduce him to the new kids!" I wined in protest, "Oh hey, these are the new kids!" I said gesturing to the two boys awkwardly standing in the entrance.

"Really Demyx?" he said sarcastically, side stepping me. "I'm Cloud. I'm a teacher in training here so you'll see me in this class at least three times a week," he said shaking each of their hands.

"Oh. Eh, hi! I'm Zack!"

"Zexion."

"Good! Now that we're introduced, bye!" I said dragging my two victims onward.

"Okay _bye!_" I heard Cloud shout bitterly through the closed door.

"So what do you have first again?" I asked the older of the two. It took a second for it to register that I meant him. "Uh, um, Government?"

"Right!"

And so I took the brothers to each of their classes, or at least to the hall their class was in. I brought them by the cafeteria, showed them where the locker rooms were, and identified where their locker would be. I would have taken them over so they could open it, but something just told me this wasn't the time.

"What do we do about that?" asked the older of the two. The younger rolled his eyes at the scene displayed before us.

A small brown haired boy moaned as Riku, the younger brother of one of my friends, attacked his mouth with violent yet controlled kisses. He had one arm wrapped around the silverette's back while the other sat comfortably at his waist. Riku was supporting them both against a locker. Locker 239. The locker Zexion and Zack would be sharing. Gross.

"Book it! We'll disinfect the locker later!" I shouted before dashing back the way we came. The other two, I think out of confusion, ran right after me, close on my heal.

I'd just finished my tour when the bell rang, making little Zexy jump, squeaking in surprise. The bell here is like a pterodactyl trying to swallow a fire truck, everyone jumps when they hear it at first. Every once in a while it gets me too, it wasn't anything to be ashamed of, but the reaction he had and the irritated yet adorable scowl he was wearing were just too much!

"OMG you're so cute I could bake you into a pie and eat you!" I squealed with little control as I threw my arms around his neck, pulling him close. Zack as well as a group of girls that happened to be nearby laughed openly as Zexion blushed something fierce against my chest. He grabbed my arms and gently placed them back at my side.

"Sorry," I said, collecting myself.

"Alright lovebirds! I'm off!" Zack said still laughing.

I wasn't bothered by the statement but Zexy responded with a kick aimed for his brother's stomach. He avoid it by back stepping then pivoted and disappeared behind a corner.

"Anyway, you remember where Algebra is?" I asked as we were swept away by the crowd of tired irritable teens all making their way to their designated classrooms. He nodded, not looking up.

"Great! Then I'll be seeing you!" I said, turning to enter my own class.

"Wait Demyx!"

What ho? Is that the voice of a timid emo beckoning me back to him?

I stopped in the doorway, turning to face the younger teen. "Yeah?"

"Do you do that to everyone you meet?"

"Do what?"

"You know, smother them."

"Oh! Only the super cute ones!" I said with a wink.

His eyes narrowed. If there's anything I've learned about this boy, it was that he was very skeptical….. And he didn't like eye contact. Actually, I don't think I've seen him smile once either.

"It's a little weird," he mumbled watching the people go by. I just smirked and returned to my desk.

"Thanks for your help," he said dashing away before I could respond. I just couldn't get enough of his little insecure actions. As for me being weird? He'd have to get used to that cuz from this point on he's going to be seeing a lot of me.

**Well, that's done! Now Zexy and Zack are settled in and everyone has their classes! So will Saix be able to focus on his work in anatomy? What's P.E. going to be like with Seifer there? Will Demyx get Zexion to smile for him? The next chapter will be up soon! Review if you love me! Or if you don't…. I really don't care just please review! Chu!**


	3. When You Get Out and Do It

**I am SO SO SO SO SO sorry this took so long! Boys suck and half my friends decided to go through their midlife crisis at the age of like nineteen! Plus Fanfiction is on its period and won't let me post! Argh! But anyway, here's a few helpful hints to help you understand the chapter better.**

**Mr. Wallace is Barrett. Just in case you don't know his last name. (I'm sorry I make fun of him! I actually like him WAAAAAY more than Tifa!)**

**Jared Leto is the lead singer of 30 Seconds to Mars. He's the love of my life.**

**Let's see…. Warnings and shit are in the first chapter… And this is mostly about Axel and Roxas, so expect heavier Saix/Xem and Demyx/Zexion later! K! Have fun!**

Schoolyard Antics**  
**

**Axel **

I stood in front of his apartment door clutching a bag in both hands. They were filled with everything we'd ever need: eggs, flour, sugar, butter, and of course, black food dye. About six bottles of it. I wasn't sure how much we would need. I was hoping he would actually… Anyway his home was nothing like I expected. He lives in an old building with tall corridors and stained wood framing. The walls are practically paper, if I leaned against one I bet my hair would rip a thousand tiny holes in it. Hm, I wonder if it'd work. If I weren't about to shat a brick I'd probably try it. But this was no time for shatting, ripping or temptations of any kind cuz I finally had my dream date! It was almost too good to be true! I'd spent this whole day in a haze, it was hard to remember how I'd even gotten to this point.

**~!Flash Back Chu!~**

Stupid gym. I didn't even want to get out of bed this morning let alone come to this freaken class. What are we even getting graded on today? How well we can listen to Mr. Wallace boast about his adopted daughter then run fifty laps around oblivion while he flirts with assistant coach Lockheart? Fuck that! No one likes seeing a guy flirt with a girl half his age! Especially when she has twice the amount of appendages!

And as much as I hated this class I was always the first one here. So, like usual, I took a seat on the third bleacher against the far wall and waited peacefully for my friend's arrival. I took into account the brainwashed trio (Rikku, Yuffie, and Selphie) as they entered not far behind me. Rikku waved, so I nodded in return before closing my eyes and leaning my head against the wall in waiting for my bouncy blond best friend to disrupt my zen. What I didn't expect however was the harmonic rant on a certain crush of mine.

"He was humming it all morning."

"Yeah but its Sora." My eyes shot open. Meer feet away, sitting on the bottom bleacher, that soft blond hair I longed to touch softly glowed in the light as its owner vigorously conversed with his best friend. Both seemed oblivious to my presence, my state of zen never seems to fail to bring me luck. After all, it's not eaves dropping if I was here first.

"AAAAAAAAAAALLLL morning! And believe me that's not the worst part either," he rebutted cutely.

"How could it get any worse than Superstar AAAAAAAAAAALLLL morning?"

"He made pink pancakes for breakfast! They had sprinkles and whipped cream, and like, copious amounts of diabetes! I could feel my teeth rotting away!"

"Ugh, really? You ate that? Did you feel your manhood rot away too?"

"Oh shut up! If I didn't he'd fork me in the spleen then shove the pancakes up the bloody hole!" Oh, dark. I can work with that.

"Hey, at least then you'd have your man card."

"Well how about I throw them up real quick! Could I have my man card back then? Huh?"

"As great as vomiting is, I have a better idea," I cut in. It seemed as good a time as any.

Both boys turned in question at me finally making my presence known. I'd have liked to have kept a straight face, but that adorable twinge in my angel's eye forced one of my trade mark smirks right across my lips.

"Woah, dude be creepin," proclaimed the friend whom I had no interest in at this time.

"Actually, dude be here WAY before the annoying underclassmen and was trying to sleep," I pointed a single finger toward my face "Upperclassmen. Here first. I win. So why don't you make something dark?" I suggested turning back to the desired blond.

"W-what?"

"You're, whoever-person made frilly pink pancakes cuz they're a frilly pink person, right? Well, you're pretty dark. Fight back with a black cake or something."

"Oh…. Well he's my brother and…. He's the only one that can cook. I don't even know where he got the stuff to make pancakes, we don't even have cereal in our apartment," he said in a stoic, almost monotone voice. Most people would feel shut out by his disposition, but for me the opportunities just kept arising.

"That's too bad. I can't cook either but I at least have all the ingredients to make a cake. My mom loves all that cooking crap. If you're feeling creative later then I'd be more than happy to loan you the goods, if you let me help that is," I said diving right in. I was hyper aware of my heart beat. It wasn't particularly fast but I could hear it ringing in the back of my head.

"Why?"

"Honestly my evenings suck and I love cake," I said rolling my eyes to the door. Please PLEASE don't let Seifer or Demyx enter now!

I could feel his friends skeptical eyes on me. I'd be skeptical too, but oh fucken well buddy, I've waited too long for this. I let my eyes glide back to the black T shit clad cherubic. Luckily he didn't seem quite as skeptical himself.

"Um, okay then. Sounds fun."

"Good, Just tell me when and where. Actually, if you give me your number we can just do that later. By the way, I'm Axel, that's A-X-E-L got it memorized?"

For a second I could almost see a glimmer of amusement cross his face. It may have just been my imagination, but either way it was wonderful. "I'm Roxas."

**Demyx**

"I don't give a damn what Jared fucking Leto tweeted last Demyx! If were late and Wallace makes us do pushups I'm shoving that Black Berry up your ass!" threatened Seifer.

Okay, 1.) he could shove Mr. Wallace himself up my ass for all I care as long as my Black Berry is safe, and B.) there is no way I'm letting him see Axel working an angle on that little cutie in there! He's going to ruin this huge leap of progress Axel's made after two years of just looking! TWO YEARS! I HAVE to keep him here!

"Oh, were not going to be late, we have plenty of time! There's still two minutes! Now OMG look what Jared did to his hair!" I shoved my phone in his face, way too close for him to see. "I know I'll like it eventually but for now it's- HEY GIVE THAT BACK! MY BABY! DON'T HURT IT!"

He pulled the battery out of my phone then slid both parts across the floor. I watched both parts slide past two girls whose faces were eerily the same and all the way under the shoe of another of my beloved P.E. buddies: Saix.

"THANK GOD SAIX YOU SAVED MY BABY!" I screamed glomping him as my usual greeting.

The girls scurried into the gym and out of our sight.

"Remember that guy Axel really likes? The one that was the reason he was so understanding when you broke up? He's talking to him in the gym, right now." I whispered to Saix before releasing my death grip on his neck. Axel and Saix had some experiences for a couple months last year. It wasn't unpleasant or anything, but it defiantly wasn't a general topic of conversation.

Saix straitened the collar on his shirt before turning to Seifer. "Rai's trying to open the locker next to his again. I wanted to help him but he was starting to turn red, it kind of scared me."

"What a fucken idiot! I'll be back in thirty seconds, got that?" he said before storming off.

"Wow! You're good!"

"Not really, You'll just never find anyone who loves Jared Leto as much as you do."

**~!End Flash Back Chu!~**

**Back to Axel**

Okay, I remember now! Then I texted him a bit during school. He told me his brother's a love crazed fruit, and I managed to get him to invite me over today! Man I'm good! Or just incredibly pushy! Fuck, I hope I just enchanted him with my awesomeness. I mean, how often does a high schooler invite a guy they just met to their apartment? Maybe I should focus on actually getting in for now.

I tried to lift my arm to knock on the door but the bags were too heavy. Well that's not good. I put one down and clenched my fist a few times. I'd been standing there so long my hands went numb. Just as I was about to knock on the door, I faintly heard a voice on the other side before the door swung open revealing someone I hadn't expected. He looked a lot like Roxas. His hair is the same shade of blond and unreasonably spikey. Their eyes were more or less the same too but he was a few inches taller.

"Um, hello?"

"Oh, Cloud, that's Axel. He's here to undo Sora's flowery poison from this morning," Roxas said rushing to meet me.

"Aren't you Mr. Sparrow's assistant?" I asked the taller blond.

"Yeah. Aren't you the guy who managed to catch a stone table on fire in the chemistry lab?"

"Vexen was pissed but it got the test delayed," I shrugged.

"Right. If you burn my home or my brother I'm going to have to run you over. Have fun! And Roxas, remind Sora to be home by nine. I won't be home until around ten thirty. See you," and with that he was gone.

"He seems fun," I commented watching him turn the corner leading to the stair case I'd used myself. There were no elevators in this building.

"Yeah, but believe it or not he's more of a parent than I could ever hope for," Roxas replied standing there glaring into the distance. I'd have liked to sit enjoying the view a little longer, but this hall way had learned my name and was starting to talk to me, I swear to God.

"Well," I said picking up the bags and throwing them in his arms before allowing myself into his humble abode. Roxas nearly sunk to his knees under the weight of them, "Jesus! Please tell me you drove here with these!"

"Well my brother has the car," and there's no way in _hell _I'm letting him know where I am, "So my friend drove me."

"Thank God! Why do you have so much?" He asked kicking the door shut and placing the bags on a counter in the kitchen.

"I wasn't sure how much we'd need. You have cake pans, right?"

"No I thought we'd bake the cake in porcelain bowls," he said more than a little sarcasticly.

"I'm pretty sure those will crack in the oven."

**Saix: Intermission**

I could feel myself positively glowing! The rats would be returning to the classroom tomorrow, as would the geckos with a box of crickets and we'd be receiving a pair of Sugar Gliders as a gift from one of the students later this week. The fish tank was getting rather disgusting too after months without cleaning. This meant I'd have to stay after school to help my favorite teacher take care of the animals all this week. There was a huge plus side to being the T.A. for the Anatomy and Zoology teacher. He generally never asked anyone else for assistance with these daily chores. He'd told me I alone was the only help he would need. It felt nice.

I entered the front door of my mansion (yes mansion) and wasted no time climbing the large spiral stair case at the end of the foyer that would lead me to the wing that contained my room. It was nice to be home. I could hardly call this estate with its high ceilings and white walls home, but when I'm in my 12' by 15' room it's as if the world has been shut away rather than just myself.

I closed the door behind me and took a second to absorb the dim green walls. Everything about it was calming, I loved this time of day just for the opportunity to relax.

_Knock knock_

Fuck you karma!

"What?" I asked from where I stood through the door.

"Are you any good at Algebra? I'm stuck."

That was my younger brother, Kadaj. I continued to stand there.

"I hate Algebra, go ask Riku."

"Riku's kinda busy with that new boyfriend of his."

At this I opened the door to the shorter blunette, "Gross. They both have pants on, right?"

"I don't know, should I go check?"

"Please do, then make him help you cuz he Aced that class, I know he did," I said waving the kid off.

"Okay!" He said flashing a genuinely adorable smile and running off, text book in hand. That boy could get anything his heart desires with the right look but I swear there's a demon lurking within. He's defiantly his father's son.

I brushed the shivers off and reclosed my door. He's Riku's problem now. Running my fingers through my soft hair I threw myself down on my bed. I couldn't wait for the rest of this week. I'd never held a sugar glider before. Mr. Xemnas says they bite, but I don't mind really. Sometimes a little bite is what defines ones personality; I could never hate them for it. It kind of reminds me of Axel actually.

I sighed and turned to face my window. The curtains had been left open to allow a few small plants some light.

Oh Axel. I remember my sophomore year, those two and a half months we dated. It was a very strange experience. I didn't hate it, I mean, Axel's a pretty amazing kisser and he was surprisingly respectful the entire time, but that sort of made things worse. The more I date him the more I'd think about that science teacher I'd hoped to run into every day. I'd ask Yazoo who was taking his class at the time how things had gone and if he'd managed to destroy the cat's internal organs. Really I wanted some insight on this teacher with the commanding personality and the soothing voice.

But I was dating Axel, so wasn't that a little unfair? For the first time in my life I'd felt guilty. I never talked to Axel or let him in but he always seemed fine with us just the way we were. It got to me a little, but I was reluctant to end it over something like that. Or at least I was until the sex dreams premiered in my life. I probably don't have to mention that they weren't of Axel. This is where I drew the line. After a week strait of this chaos I decided to break up with Axel, but he wasn't angry. He wasnt particularly sad either. I don't really know how to describe his reaction. If anything his expressions matched mine. That's when I figured he had someone he admired as well.

"_So who is it?"_

"_Who's who?"_

"_The one you really want to be with."_

"_What makes you think there's someone else I want to be with?"_

"_You just seem to have that look."_

"_You were always so hard to read but others aren't really a mystery to you, huh?"_

"_Not really."_

"_I figured. Don't worry about it. I can't really see a situation that you'll ever have to meet him."_

"_Fair enough."_

"_What about you? Is there someone you'd rather be with?"_

"_Not right now. I'd just like to clear my head for a bit."_

After that we didn't talk for months at a time. I thought we wouldn't be friends after that, but then we were put in the same P.E. It was like freshmen year all over again, and to be honest I wouldn't have it any other way.

**Roxas**

"AXEL YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BURN THE BUTTER!"

"Why not? It's not mixing!"

"YOU'RE NOT STIRING HARD ENOUGH! SHIT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW BUTTER WAS FLAMMABLE!"

"Well, you didn't know eggs were flammable either but you learn a lot when you get out and do it!"

"I'd rather learn a lot by following the recipe!"

That's only a little sample of how our cooking session was going so far. I guess it was good that Axel had brought so many extra ingredients because at this point we'd thrown away half a bag of flower, eight eggs, four sticks of butter and the shirt Axel was wearing cuz that caught fire too. I leant him one of Clouds old band T's mostly because I had a feeling he was scared of Cloud and would be careful with it.

Anyway after three hours of failed attempts we finally had a batter with a normal consistency. There weren't any chunks or shells, it wasn't scorched anywhere and it tasted pretty good.

"Finally! Let's add the food dye!" I said in relief. I'd never worked so hard on anything in my life.

"Right, and how much exactly?"

"I don't know, just put some in and we'll figure it out as we go I said wiping what I think is sugar and egg off my pants with a dish towl.

"Okay then," he said grabbing a tiny bottle and adding a few drops then stirring. It turned a light grey color. He added a few more then stirred again. Little changed.

"Come on Martha Stewart before Hell freezes over!" I said squeezing his fist and emptying half the bottle into the mixture.

"Dag dude I was just trying to be professional!"

"You were being slow; I just want my black cake!" I said taking the wooden spoon and mixing the black liquid into the mass. It morphed into an ominous dark grey color, I liked it very much.

"Close enough! Let's bake this sucker!" I said putting aside the bowl and fetching two medium sized cake pans. Axel poured while I yelled at him for spilling on my counter. Luckily there was enough for both pans with a little left over. With that we shoved them in the oven, set the timer and phase one was complete! Now for a little break and then frosting.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" asked the red head reaching for his jacket that was hanging by the door.

"Yeah that's fine. Take it to the balcony though. I don't think Cloud would appreciate the smell," I said pulling my phone from my pocket and sitting on the couch. Man being off my feet felt good!

"Got it," He said. I heard the sliding glass door open then close. It was weird; I hadn't just sat in a quiet room for what seemed like ages. Letting my head fall back I lifted my phone to read my one message.

Hayner:_ 'Hey, how's your little date going?'_

What a prick. I typed my response: _'Good, how's that black eye working for you?'_

I got a response after a couple minutes: _'Yeah, you're funny. Just let me know if I've gotta kick some ass.'_

'_You'll know if I come to school with burns over half my body tomorrow.' _I responded. Just as I flipped my phone shut I heard the glass door slide open and shut again.

"Okay! Shall we make some frosting?"

"Sure but give me your lighter first," I said stepping over the back of the coach to meet Axel back in the kitchen.

"What? Why?"

"Cuz you don't need heat of any kind to make frosting!" I said holding out my hand.

"What about Baked Alaska or Crème Brulee or something?" he asked pouting.

"Well Baked Alaska is special and Crème Brulee isn't even cake. I think its custard or something," I said pondering. Then I turned back to him, "Give it."

"Fine," he said tossing it to my chest. I caught it and pocketed it. Maybe this would make the process go a bit smoother.

Around nine the frosting was done and the cake was cooling. It had darkened in the oven. It was absolutely perfect. I couldn't wait for Sora to walk in that door and see MY creative use of food dye. But I really owed all of this to Axel. I was sure today would be slow and boring, and he basically blew all that up. It's really nice.

We made the six step journey to the living room and turned on the T.V. while we waited for the cake to cool. What really confused me though was how we got in this position in the first place. I mean, I enjoyed tonight, but what the hell?

I stared intensely at his eyes. They were focused on whatever stupid show was on cartoon network, but he couldn't help but glance over at the sudden intrusion.

"What?"

"Who are you?"

"That's kind of a broad question."

"No, I mean how'd you get here? We met all of ten hours ago right? You could have been a rapist for all I knew and I just let you in bearing offerings of cake."

"Well if that's how you expected this evening to go then give a little warning and next time I won't disappoint," he said smirking.

"No, that's alright, this was fine with me."

"Good. I had fun."

"Yeah, me too."

"Roxy! I'm home!" Came a shout from the door which suddenly flung open.

**Bam! And we're done! Chapter two completed! Again I am so sorry I was like a month late! Keep a look out for a little bonus chapter as a preset! Its Seiner and it goes along with the plot and gives a little introductory to the next main chapter! MAN HUNT AHOY! I'M SO FREAKEN EXCITED I COULD EAT A BABY! Review please! I love to hear from you!**


	4. Bonus: SEINER

**Welcome to Sarah's Super Happy Seiner Bonus Special! To be honest it didn't turn out quite how I expected, but it's just a bonus so please don't hate me for it! Fair warning! Now, there's some pretty heavy pot usage in this, so if you're offended by that sort of thing please direct yourself elsewhere because after writing this my only goal in life is to not get flagged. PLEASE DON'T FLAG ME I'M SORRY! Little side note, I'm not quite sure why I made Barrett such a bitch. So enjoy guys!**

Schoolyard Antics: BONUS

**Hayner**

Happy Friday all. Weather: Extremely fair, warmer than it's been in a while. School: So much homework I could probably weave it all together and hang myself with it. Friends: Happier than I've ever seen them. It's almost sickening.

It's weird, but even though everyone seems so happy and content, I've somehow gotten more angry and bitter as the week went on. Everything just seemed so different, which is strange because not much had changed. I mean, Axel would hang around with us every once in a while, but that was really it. I'd still meet Olette and Pence on the corner every morning then walk to school. Mr. Sparrow was still barely conscious during class and Mr. Wallace was still an over powering douche bag who enjoys breaking little boy's self-esteem. My perfectly normal human existence seemed fully in check, so why am I so miserable?

Pan in on today's gym class. We're playing indoor soccer and….

"WHAT KINDA PASS WAS THAT? IF IT'D HIT HER WE'D A HAD A CONCUSSION ON OUR HANDS AND HOW WOULD YA FEEL ABOUT THAT? DROP WHERE YOU ARE AND GIVE MEH TWENTY!"

I was made coach's scape goat. Anything ANYTHING that went wrong was my fault, and God forbid I endanger one of his girls!

I dropped where I was, which was an enforced rule, and started punching out push-ups as fast as I could. All the power and speed in the world couldn't get me out of there fast enough though because Seifer had the ball.

_Wham!_ "Son of a bitch Seifer! What the HELL is your problem?" I screamed. That was my usual reaction when Seifer hits me in the head, I couldn't really stop it.

"THIS IS A SCHOOL WATCH YOUR GOD DAMN LANGUAGE! TWENTY MORE!"

"What? That's not even fair! He kicked the ball at my face!"

"Actually I kicked the ball at that red head girl and you were in the way," Seifer said coolly crossing his arms. I glanced behind my shoulder at a rather confused looking Kairi who shrugged in response.

"Fuck it," I mumbled to myself as I sped through my last 26 push-ups. I wasn't going to snap at Seifer today no matter how badly I wanted to.

I propped myself back up then ran to help defend. Shit, Zack has the ball! His kicks were beyond powerful; if he gets a shot in on our goalie (Yuffie) she won't stand a chance! AND WHY ISN'T ANYONE COVERING HIM?

Cutting in from the left to block the goal, I pulled a move somewhere between a large step and a leap, right as he launched the ball. There was a flash of pain before my head met the hardwood floor. Of course! Right into my arm! It's okay though, it only hurt worse than a rabid tiger attack.

"Shit! Fuck! OWWW!" I yelled holding my shoulder. It stung beyond belief. Lifting my sleeve I could see a perfect outline of the ball, laces and all, bruising its way onto my arm.

"Oh my God I'm so sorry!" Zack yelled, holding out a hand to help me up. I took it without making eye contact. "It's fine. Nice freaken shot." I said.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT LANGUAGE? Give me twenty more! Slip up again and yer outa here!" Screamed our ever loving coach.

"I don't get a break for getting nailed in the shoulder? What the crap is that? I can feel it throbbing!"

"I don't want to hear it blondie! Yer on thin ice so I'd drop the attitude and listen!" He yelled back. I glanced over at Roxas who was playing for the other team. He gave me an apologetic look. I was never going to get any support here.

Yuffie launched it clear across the court past me and into Larxene's possession. No one but the goalie between her and the goal she took two big strides and sunk it between Xion's open arms and right into the net.

"Fuck yeah! I torched your ass!" that she devil yelled taking a celebratory run around the goal and into the arms of her awaiting boyfriend.

I glanced over at Coach Wallace. He scribbled something on his clip board allowing a satisfied smirk to grace his lips.

"Oh, you've got to be freaken kidding me! Why doesn't she get yelled at?" I said just below his range of hearing. Lifting myself up after those stupid pushups, I returned to my position to continue the game.

"Don't worry, he'll like you too after the sex change," Seifer said sneaking up behind me.

My fists clenched. I wasn't in the mood for any of Seifer's shit, but I wasn't going to let him get me kicked out. Taking a breath I let it go and walked away.

"What, nothing? You're no fun today, you know that?" he said walking on with me.

"Shut up Seifer, I'm not getting kicked out of here."

"That's a good goal but you don't have a prayer. I've been Wallace's punching bag before and there's no way you're going to make it thirty more minutes," he said turning to face his goalie.

I watch the ball fly clear over my head and to the awaiting feet of Kairi. Perfect! Kairi can't do shit! I called the rest of the team off and with almost no effort took the ball into my own possession, switching directions.

I double stepped Rikku, cut past Demyx and _Wham! _Suddenly I had a nice view of the wooden floor, up close and personal once again.

"WHY IS EVERYONE HITTING ME TODAY?"

"Oh snap son! You got pwned! How does it feel to eat shit on the court cuz you just got seconds!" Larxene gloated before strutting away without a second look.

"Okay, no! If I don't get a free ball for getting laid out flat BY SOMEONE ON MY TEAM, I should at least get one for that language!" I yelled at Coach.

"Cool your jets kid yer not one to complain here! How many curse words have you thrown around today?" he yelled back.

"Wha- How many people have I mauled today?" I screamed. It came out a bit higher than I'd have liked.

"If ya weren't so vicious maybe it wouldn't come to that! Try playing like a normal person why don'cha!"

I couldn't believe this. "COACH!"

"Alright ya baby, take your kick! You complain more than all a these girls put togather!" he said, scribbling once again on that friggen clip board.

Dear God in heaven, how could I possibly be stuck with such a HORRIBLE teacher?

Angrily I set up for my kick. I just couldn't understand how I was so lucky to be stuck with such a joy every single day! I swear the only reason he still works here was because his bosses were scared of that gun arm of his! I kicked the ball as hard as I could, trying to relieve some of my overwhelming anger. Sailing across the court faster than my heart could beat, I watched in horror as the ball bashed right into Coach Wallace's face. Did I do that on purpose? There's no way! But he's not going to listen if I tell him that!

All my rage turned to fear as I saw him storm onto the court, right towards me. Oh shit! Coach Lockheart isn't here today! That means there was no one here to stop him! He's going to rip me apart limb from limb! A few people were snickering, but all that was over once the volcano erupted.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YER DOING FOOL? I OTTA PUT A CAP IN YOUR ASS! DO YA HAVE ANY SENCE IN THAT THICK BLOND SKULL OF YERS? EVEN THE THOUGHT THAT YOU'D ATTACK A TEACHER! YA WANT TO BE SUSPENDED? HUH?"

I was frozen in fear. Somewhere deep inside me I was hoping that if I stood still, he wouldn't be able to see me. At this point however, I was just hoping that if I let him go on for long enough he'd pass out from lack of oxygen. So far, not so good.

"WELL? IF I WERE YOU I'D BE THINKIN UP SOME EXCUSES AND FAST CUZ AT THIS RATE YOU AIN'T COMIN BACK! YOU HEAR ME? A STUDENT LIKE YOU IS A DANGER TO ME AND THIS CLASS!"

I wanted to look around at the people for help, but I'm sure everyone was just as shocked as me. I wanted to run but I was scared. I wasn't sure if his arm was loaded too, which scared me even more.

And then something I honestly hadn't expected happened. I was shoved out of his direct line of fire.

"Actually coach, I'd say he's perfectly fine. He's not gonna get suspended for attacking a teacher when that teacher's done nothing but verbally assault him."

The voice didn't register in my mind at all. It was when I looked back and saw Seifer defending me that I was overcome with even more shock than before.

"WHADGA SAY ALMSEY? YA REALLY WANT TO GET IN ON THIS? YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS HIM!"

"And yet I've never gotten worse than a detention because you always start it," he said coolly, not flinching away or showing weakness of any kind.

"BOTH OF YA! OUT OF MY GYM! I DON'T WANT TO SEE EITHER OF YOUR FACES! NOW!"

"Sure thing," Seifer responded walking right past him toward the locker rooms. Taking that as my cue to get the hell out, I followed close behind my hated enemy. On the way out we passed Roxas and Axel who were both staring at us, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. I ignored them and disappeared through the door to the locker rooms.

"I told you you wouldn't make it. I know your temper, but man you've got some balls hitting him like that! I'll never forget that shocked look on his face!" Seifer said dialing in the combination to his locker. I just stood in front of the locker room door, staring into the distance. So wait, I really did just hit Mr. Wallace in the face? Holy shit it happened so fast I wasn't sure that it was true!

"Hello? Incidents over Chickenwus, you're clear to land!" Seifer said throwing a dirty gym shirt at me. Oh right, I'm in the locker room.

I walked past him to my own locker, opened it and grabbed my school clothes. "So….. Why'd you defend me?" I asked turning my head away as he changed his pants.

"Cuz I hate that son of a bitch and you defiantly weren't going to defend yourself," he said buttoning the pants, "Plus it's just so much fun putting him in his place."

"So I'm really not going to get suspended or anything?" I asked.

"Oh no, you'll get at least a week of detention, but the principal understands the whole coach Wallace situation. You're lucky I decided to cut in though or he would have destroyed you on the spot."

"No way, I would have gotten out!" I said slowly gaining back my composure.

"You looked like you were going to wet yourself."

"Fuck you! I'm tougher than you think!"

"Please! You need someone to hold your hand twenty four/seven!" Seifer said pulling his shirt over his head revealing a set of pleasingly toned abs. I tried not to look as I snapped back.

"Like hell I do! For once in my life you're nice to me and you try to use that to cut me down? What the hell is your problem?"

He slammed his locker shut, "Why don't you tell me what your problem is first? Maybe we're not friends, but I can't even have a normal conversation with you because you're always on the defensive!"

"When have you ever given me a reason not to be on the defensive? You've done nothing but beat the shit out of me since middle school! You're such a sadist I can hardly stand it!"

I three short strides and the distance between us was completely nonexistent. Up, I know how this goes. Forgetting where I was, I back stepped right into a corner, Seifer following me the entire way. I saw a flash of his fist before closing my eyes, but to my surprise I heard it clash with the locker next to me rather that my face. Maybe I don't know how this goes…..

"You can't take it? Maybe you should open your eyes. Do you know how much pressure you put on people? If you're not happy then nobody else should be, and when you're in trouble you expect someone to just swoop in and save you. Well, I have some knowledge I've just been itching to shove down your throat. I'm not always going to be there to save you and considering what just happened, you can sure as hell bet your little blond pet won't be there either."

The shock factor had been completely reintroduced, but when it comes to Seifer, I couldn't back down. Cornered in every way possible, I stood my ground.

"You don't know what you're talking about. I'm way more independent than you give me credit for."

Seifer's face couldn't have been more than an inch from mine. His still bare chest hovered directly over mine. Like this, I found it almost impossible to breath. It wasn't the proximity that got to me though, it was that look on his face. He fer sure looked angry, but it wasn't like any rage I'd ever seen before. His eyes were half lidded and his lips were pursed in a small frown, but his breathing was soft and controlled. I felt it brush against my neck causing goose bumps to cultivate across my arms and legs. This situation seemed just as unreal as the last.

"When have you ever given me a reason to believe that?" he said before his knee met my stomach. I immediately sunk to the floor crossing my arms across my pained gut. It took a second for my breath to come back, but by that time Seifer had already thrown his shirt on and booked it out the back exit. Why? Again? People hitting me!

Well, just sitting here seems nice, let's do that until my organs readjust.

It wasn't long before the locker room door burst open revealing my best friend, a worried look plastered across his face. "Hayner! You're still here! Are you okay? You look incredibly pale, what happened?" he asked rushing to my side.

"Oh, you know, the usual."

"Seifer?" he asked holding a hand out to me. I took it, using it to lift myself to my feet, cringing a little. It wasn't too bad though, I'd be fine.

"Naturally," I said watching the rest of the boys file in.

"What happened? We just had an argument and before I knew it I was cornered and his knee was in my stomach. It was so weird though, for a second there I thought he was Gonna..…" I trailed off remembering Seifer's cold breath against my neck. My face grew hot as the memory elicited more goose bumps.

"Gonna what?" he asked puzzled.

"Nothing. Let's hurry, I'm starving."

"Well good. I think Namine brought a shit ton of cookies."

"Really? What's with you guys and baking?"

He shrugged, "Must be some kind of pheromone in the air."

**Seifer: After the final bell**

That bell could not have come fast enough. After that little run in at P.E. all I really wanted was to blow off some steam. Being called into the principal's office and given detention last period wasn't exactly the cherry on top of my day either. Problem was I had no clue where Rai and Fu went. You'd think by this point in those idiot's lives they'd know when and where to meet me. And so I went forth into the deep were I came across a little exchange I couldn't pass up.

Waiting at the end of the deserted hall on the stair case, I watched as that dreaded blond talked quietly with two boys I recognized from P.E.: Tidus and Waka. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it didn't take much to figure out what was going on. The two renowned stoners let out an echoing laugh. Tidus used Waka for support who in turn used the wall. Hayner looked thoroughly displeased. Just the same, he reached into one of his baggy pockets all handed the two a stack of cookies wrapped in a paper towel. Waka reached into his own pocket and handed Hayner a little baggy. I was too far away to see exactly what was in it, but like I said, it didn't take much to figure it out. Having gathered all the information I needed, I left the hall and made my way to the front entrance.

Pitty weed, huh? Nice. Stoners really are good people. Too bad there's no way I'm letting him smoke it alone. Kid might up and off himself, and then what would I do for entertainment? Watching Rai attempt to do math just wasn't going to cut it anymore.

I stopped outside the building and waited. Hayner lived just a couple blocks from the school, not far from me; he would use this door.

And sure enough not even a full minute later he'd arrived.

"Sup lamer?"

"Damn it, what do you want now Seifer," he said steaming.

"A struggle. Still pissed right?"

"Pass," he said walking right past me. I followed. I'd already decided he wasn't getting away.

"That's fine, but I'm coming with you."

"Oh, your cronies ditched you so now you have to hang around me? You're pathetic, you know that right?"

I stopped for a second. He kept going. Okay Seifer, deep breath. You can get through this without murdering him.

"And what if I just want to hang out?"

"Why would you possibly want to do that?" he asked turning on the spot to face me.

"Because your sunny disposition is just SO freaken enticing!" I snapped approaching the unmoved blond.

"There's no way you're getting in my house."

"That's fine, I'll just wait outside and when your parents get home and ask why I'm there I'll say 'Hayner owes me a struggle but he wanted to get high instead, so I'm waiting for him to finish.'" His face softened into concern.

"You saw that?"

"Oh yeah."

"You wouldn't."

Of course I wouldn't, but I wasn't going to let him know that, "You don't know what I'll do."

"So then you just want my weed, right?"

"I thought you'd never ask," I said shoving my hands in my pockets and walking right past him.

"I told you you're not getting in my house!"

"We'll see," I said smirking as Hayner continued walking. Ten long ass minutes of walking in silence and both of us were in front of Hayner's house. He took a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, slipped in and slammed it shut not giving me the chance to try and force my way through.

Fine by me. I may not have been serious about telling his parents, but I sure as hell wasn't going to walk away now. I sat down against his door pulling my iPod out and setting it to shuffle. I expect this would take a while.

The first hour flew by about as fast as a retarded penguin with a twitch. The second hour was even longer. By the third hour I'd heard _Bottoms Up _three times already and was about ready to rip Nicki Minaj's smug little head right off her body. That's when I felt the door open from behind me. A shadow completely consumed me from the doorway. Removing an ear bud I glanced up to see, once again, a thoroughly pissed blond.

"Alright you stubborn fucktard! Just get the Hell in here! Now!"

"Finally! I should knock that frown right off your face for leaving me out here for this long!"

"DO YOU WANT IN OR NOT?"

"Alright princes, don't get your panties in a bunch, I'm coming," I said picking my body up and following him in. It was weird; I hadn't seen the inside of his house since our very first struggle. I'd knocked him out cold, so his friends made me carry him home. Even then I didn't take so much as step inside.

I followed him to his bedroom at the top of the stairs, to the left. Funny, it was just how I pictured it….. Not that I spend time wondering what his room looks like. It just fits his personality perfectly. The walls are a grey/green color and the floor is completely covered in clothes, CDs, and all kinds of other shit. There's a rather large bean bag under the window, and a skate board was thrown on top of his unmade bed.

"Alright, so now what?" I asked sifting my way to the bean bag.

"I don't know, you're the one who wanted in so bad, why don't you figure it out?"

"TV's fine with me."

He complied immediately, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV tucked away in the corner. I didn't complain about whatever stupid shows Hayner put on. In fact, neither of us really talked at all. I could practically smell the awkwardness emanating between us, but somehow I only saw it as another challenge. I wasn't going to break first; I would make damn sure of that!

Right about the time I was wondering why I'd even decided to come here in the first place, he lost it. Thank God too; I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand it anymore.

"Fuck this! I don't even care anymore, I'm loading up!" he yelled completely out of blue.

"Now?"

"Well, that's what you're here for right?" he said reaching into his pocket and pulling out the same baggy from earlier.

"Sure, why not."

He sat next to me and pulled a small red and orange pipe from the little bag.

"They lent you their pipe?" I asked watching him place it on the window sill and pick small pieces from the bag.

"Yeah. I told them I didn't have one so they said they have like five more at home and threw it in the bag."

"They're idiots."

"Whatever, I don't care as long as I can get not sober, right now!" He said brushing the excess substance from his hand and pulling a lighter from the bag as well. Opening the window he took a long hard hit before handing the pipe to me, the bowl cherried. I inhaled the sharp smoke resisting the urge to cough before handing it back. We went on like this for about ten minutes.

"You know, I don't feel anything," I said leaning back against the bean bag. I have to say though; this was way better than sitting alone outside or awkwardly in silence together.

"Tidus said it takes a while for it to hit you, but when it does it knocks you right on your ass," he responded holding the pipe to his lips and igniting the charred plant once more. I took the pipe from him and did the same, but before I'd finished my hit he let out a string of violent coughs. Sadly very little of the smoke made it out the window. I patted his back as he finished hacking.

"S-sorry. I forgot I was holding my breath and just started breathing again, but it didn't work."

The thought made me laugh, which in turn sent me into my own frenzy of coughs. Luckily I was smart enough to aim it out the window.

"You are so gone," I said regaining my composure.

"What? I, I'm not…. Yeah okay," he responded in defeat.

How cute…..

Wait, what? Cute? No way. I'm defiantly be gone too! I mean I'm defiantly gone too!

He took another hit, this time being extra cautious in making sure not to miss his mark. He blew the smoke out the window and handed me the pipe. Taking my hit we sat in silence as I held it in. This was nice. I'd never dreamed of a situation where the two of us would be within ten feet of each other and not attempting murder. I could sit here forever, but all too soon the situation changed tones.

We heard a car door slam shut right in front of Hayner's house. A look of terror crossed both of our faces, "Oh shit that's probably my mom!" he yelled grabbing the pipe from my hand and throwing it in the sill before shutting the window, blinds and curtains. I tried every way possible to call him an idiot and tell him to open the window again without letting go of my hit, but the front door opened and I was sure my lungs were gonna give out. We both could hear footsteps climbing the stairs. I was out of time. I couldn't hold it anymore, so I did the only thing possible: I grabbed Hayner's face and forced his mouth open with my own. Surprisingly he complied, probably from sheer surprise, so I shot gunned my hit to him. That's the moment the door flung open without as much as a knock.

"Hayner, are you- OH SHIT! SORRY!" the intruder said slamming the door shut as instantly as it had opened.

Now, I'm not exactly a vocal expert and it might just be because I'm incredibly high right now, but I'm pretty sure Hayner's mom doesn't sound like Roxas. I let go of Hayner's face sending him in a second fit of coughs. Hm, there's hardly any smoke this time. If he'd have held it in for a second he would have ghosted it.

"What the HELL was that?" he screamed covering his mouth with one hand and using the other to launch himself off the bean bag.

"Shot gun," I responded keeping my cool. To be honest, I was just as shocked as he was, and usually I'd beat the crap out of him in attempt to counter the effects of my actions, but I was just SOOOOOOO mellow.

"Well DON'T!"

"I didn't have much choice princess. I thought your mom was coming up the stairs and you closed the window!"

"Oh my God my mom! Did she see that?"

It took me a second to draw back the memory; I mean it would take anyone….. Oh right!

"No, but someone did."

"We were called in because of a rape situation, please point us in the- Oh dag it smells like straight up weed up in here," came a voice from the door which swung open once more.

"No kidding! Man if you're going to do that you should at least open a window!" came a second voice.

"Axel? Demyx? What the fuck are you two doing here?" I asked lifting myself from the bean bag. I felt light as a feather trying not to trip on the copious amounts of stuff floating around Hayner's room.

"Yeah, we could ask you the same thing there buddy accept we got the story already from Roxas," responded the red head.

"Roxas doesn't know shit," I responded.

"WHAT'S surprising," Axel said over riding my statement, "Is that this little gem let you anywhere near him to begin with after you kneed him in the stomach like that," Axel said stepping over to Hayner and putting an arm around him. Hayner wasn't fazed. Or rather, he was so fixated on one spot amongst the clutter coating his floor that he hadn't even noticed. "Hey!" Axel said shaking him a little. His eyes didn't move from that spot for another fifteen seconds before he finally snapped out of it.

"Sry what?" he said looking up at the tall red head draped around him.

"Dear God you are so stoned," he said before pushing the blond away.

"Should make things interesting though! So tell me, do you want to run or chase?" He said turning his attention once more to me.

"Run or chase?" I asked. It was like a veil had been casted over my brain, I couldn't understand what they wanted from me.

"WHAT? Don't tell me you're so blazed you don't even remember our favorite game?" yelled Demyx in disgust.

Favorite….. Game? Oh!

"No way!"

"Yep! It's MAN HUNT NIGHT BABY!"

**Wow. Can it really be a bonus if its longer than all my other chapters? Oh well! Anyway, I figured I'd lay out some terms for those of you out there who aren't total burn outs. I'm sure you kind of figured most of this but I wanted to make sure.**

"**Load up!"- That means fill the bowl of the pipe with the goods.**

"**Cherried"- That's when one person takes a hit and the weed is still burning once they finish.**

"**Shot gunned"- When one person takes a hit then interlocks lips with another and releases it into their mouth. Smart recipients generally breathe it in. Just saying.**

"**Ghosted"- When someone takes a hit and releases clear air rather than smoke.**

**So there's some stoner knowledge for your head brains! Please please PLEASE don't flag me! Continuing: ITS ON BITCHES! Man hunt next chapter! It's going to be a MONSTER! So get ready world because I LOVE THIS GAME!**


	5. Gentlemen, Welcome  to Man Hunt Part I

**Hey guys! It has come! After literally days of writing Man Hunt has arrived! It was a LO-HA-HA-AH-ONG chapter though so I had to split it up. Even then the two chapters were still kinda long. Oh well! Anything for a good story! Rated M, I don't own this series, Jared Leto (Though I've tried) Lady Gaga or any other references I make! Please R&R!**

Schoolyard Antics

**Demyx: Friday morning**

I stumbled out of my sister's car utterly glad to be in one piece. You'd think after two years of driving she'd have gotten better but no! Well, I guess the world wouldn't miss that squirrel. That poor poor squirrel….. Whatever family lived in that house might miss their mail box though.

"Oo score! I got a prize!" Rikku said pulling the flag from the rim of her tire. "I'ma make a necklace out of this!"

"Really? How very Gaga of you," I said grabbing my bag from the back seat.

"What can I say? I'm a little monster through and through!" she responded slamming the car door shut.

We entered the upperclassmen entrance together before going our separate ways. She'd inevitably march strait to the cafeteria to find her friends while I was off on my usual Zexion scavenger hunt! My prize was usually a less than heart felt "Good morning," followed by forced conversation on my part. This kid was a tough one to crack, I'll give him that. BUT- as they say, any cutie is worth fighting for up until their boyfriend steps in! I think "they" is just Reno though. Oh well, logic is logic!

At least it wasn't too hard to find him today! He and his brother are at their locker talking and casually sipping paper coffee cups. His back is turned to me, the perfect position for a surprise attack! I tiptoed my way into the locker bay and lined myself up for the pounce. Bracing myself, I launched at the moody angel who swung his locker door open at the last second hitting me right in the forehead. Eh, ow! It really hurt but I guess that's funny since Zack's in an uproar.

"Oh, ow, ouch! Why Zexy why?"

"Good morning Demyx," he said closing the locker and taking a big sip of his coffee, not even bothering to turn and see if I was okay.

"Morning," I said in a sulky tone, rubbing that spot on my forehead. I hope it won't leave a mark.

"Don't worry, you're good," Zack said reassuring me, "That was an incredibly epic fail though."

"Thanks! You'll find everything about me to be epic," I said trudging my way into their little pow-wow.

"How's that?" asked Zack teasingly.

"What do you mean how's that? It's just the way I am!"

"Is that a triad?" asked lil' Zexy staring wide eyed at my shirt.

I looked down to confirm. "Oh yeah! You know I wasn't really paying attention when I put this shirt on this-WAIT! NO FREAKEN WAY YOU LIKE 30 SECONDS TO MARS?" I screamed completely thrown off.

"Of course! They're only my favorite band of all time! I'm so addicted! I'll watch anything with Jared Leto!" he said throwing aside his empty cup.

It was at this time that I felt my heart stop. Not only had I finally found something we had in common, but it was my number one obsession! Just in front of figuring out something we had in common! It was perfect!

"You know they're coming here in February, right?" I said fighting the urge to scream at the top of my lungs.

"Defiantly! I want to go so bad, but you're the only other echelon I've met!"

"So we HAVE to go together!" I said grabbing his hands.

"Okay!" he said without hesitation. I could see the excitement strewn across his face. His eyes….. Or eye was bright and I could see just a hint of teeth behind that captivating smile. It was simply beautiful.

"You know Zex, this is the first time you've ever smiled for me," I stated in a calm satisfied tone. I squeezed his hands in my own, "You're positively radiant! I think you should do it more often!"

Any previous sign of joy on his face was swept clean away by a light red blush. I liked this Zexy face too. Pretty much any face he made I liked. When it came to him, I honestly couldn't help it!

"It's not that great," he said quietly, refusing to make any further eye contact.

"It's perfect!" I said clutching his hands and forcing them as low as they'd go causing our bodies to practically clash.

"Yeah yeah, Zexion's adorable," chimed the voice of his brother. I'd forgotten he was even there for a second. I guess within all this excitement my mind had been blown just a bit too hard. "Feel free to keep spoiling him though. I'm outta here," he said walking away. As I watched him go I noticed a familiar head of red hair disappear behind the end of the hall. That's right! I haven't introduced Axel to Zexion yet! Since they have no classes together and Zexion has underclassmen lunch, there's really been no time.

"AXEL!" I screamed. I could hear him stumble as my beloved Pyro jetted back into view. I let go of one of Zexy's hands and used the other to drag him along with me. "Hey! You're here early!"

"Yeah, it's Friday so Reno doesn't have class. I just drove myself," he said not questioning the boy I decided to bring along for the ride.

"Wow, he actually let you drive yourself? He doesn't think you'll skip and drive to Disney Land or something?"

"I guess not."

"I wish my sister would just not come to school sometimes so I could drive myself. You know she killed a squirrel and a mail box on the way over here? They weren't even on the road!"

"I believe it, don't worry."

"OH AXEL! This is Zexion!" I yelled pushing the smaller boy toward my best friend. Axel grabbed his hand for a friendly shake while Zexion stood there being copious amounts of awkward, as usual.

"I figured."

"Guess what? He's an echelon too! And he loves Jared! And he cried at the end of _Requiem for a Dream_! And-"

"Whoa, wait! How would you know if I cried at the end of _Requiem for a Dream_?" he asked turning to me.

"Everyone cries at the end of that movie! It's a requirement!"

"You have no clue if or when I cry." he said folding his arms.

"My guess is every night before you fall asleep," said Axel in a low tone.

"What?" asked Zexion cocking his head slightly.

"Nothing, don't worry about it. So listen, it's gotten pretty warm out. You feel like playing a game tonight?" asked the pyro turning his focus back to me.

"A game? Could you possibly mean_ the_ game?" I asked.

"Damn it Demyx you just made me lose the game!"

"Aw man! I made me lose the game too!" I said running a hand through my hair. I hate the game. It's the worst game ever!

"Yeah, well you better! Anyway, as I was saying, I'm thinking Man Hunt tonight. How 'bout it?"

"Hell yeah I want to Man Hunt tonight! Who're we going to ask to play?"

"Well, I was going to ask Roxas then have him ask his friends. Then there's always Marluxia and Larxene, Saix, Seifer and his friends. I bet he'll get a kick out of playing with Roxas and them. And hey! Why not ask Zexion here?" Axel said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah! Please Zexy? Play with us?"

"Um, what's Man Hunt?" he asked in a blasé tone.

I met Axel's eye for a second before giving a small laugh and a devious grin. I love explaining man hunt.

**Saix**

"Once everyone finishes copying the notes you may use the rest of the class time to get a head start on your assignments for tonight. You may talk quietly amongst yourselves but keep in mind that this time was given to you to work, not play."

I pulled the work sheet from the back of my book. If this were any other class, I'd goof off like the people around me, but this was my favorite class and I wanted to spend every minute possible in the high favors of my teacher. When he speaks my name with those soft pink lips I want them always to be in a smile. Please excuse the details.

"Oh, and Saix, a word."

Those soft pink lips request my presence! In the name of the God's above I must answer the call! Too much? I felt the drama suited the moment nicely.

I approached his desk heart racing as always. Luckily I'm the master of keeping straight faces, "Yes?"

"Have you been watching the sugar gliders these past couple days?" He asked interlacing his fingers and resting his chin on them.

"I've noticed certain behaviors, yes."

"And what are those?"

"It's just the obvious. They seem to be awake more during the day than when they were first brought here on Tuesday. They also don't seem to be active much when they're awake. I've noticed some shivering as well," I said turning to where the cage sat in the back of the room.

"Very good. I suspect that something in the lab is making them ill. It could be the sudden change in environment but it's hard to be sure. I'd like to do a sweep of the lab to check for any harmful substances or inappropriate habitual extremities but I'd rather they be removed for the time being," he responded nonchalantly.

"So you'd like me to take them home?" I asked slightly puzzled.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble. My home proves to be an unsafe environment for such small creatures."

"Why?"

"I have a large dog," he responded coolly.

"Aw, well then I'd be glad to take them. I don't think I can carry their cage and supplies on my own though," I responded hoping he'd catch my underlined message.

"Your brother?"

"He has plans after school with his… Lover."

"Aw yes, that spikey headed brown haired boy who skips in here to play with the animals every day."

Damn it Riku! Keep your personal life to yourself, don't bring it into mine!

"In any case, I have a rather large work load to tackle this afternoon. It'd probably suit you better to find someone else to assist you," he said rolling his chair to the computer.

"What if I helped?" I asked hoping not to intrude.

"A lot of its grading papers then entering those grades. It's very boring; you don't want to be around for that."

"It's no trouble. I don't have plans this evening anyway, and to be honest, I've never had a pet before. I want to know that I'm handling them right."

"Well in that case, I assume it wouldn't be too much trouble to give you the Zoology portion," he said turning from his computer to face me, "If you'd really rather wait for me, then that'd be a great help. Thank you very much for the offer," he said flashing me a small smile.

The impact of that blissful image nearly knocked me off my feet. Mr. Xemnas would be coming to my house tonight! I could hardly believe my luck!

"It's not a problem sir. After all I am your TA."

**Axel**

"WHAT KINDA PASS WAS THAT? IF IT'D HIT HER WE'D A HAD A CONCUSSION ON OUR HANDS AND HOW WOULD YA FEEL ABOUT THAT? DROP WHERE YOU ARE AND GIVE MEH TWENTY!"

"Wow, Coach is really laying it on thick isn't he?" I said walking along the opposite side of the court with my new beautiful blond buddy.

"Yeah, poor Hayner," he responded.

"So anyway, what do you say?" I asked returning to our original conversation.

"I don't know. I'm not sure Cloud would be too thrilled," he said stopping to watch the progress of the ball. _Wham_! Right into the side of Hayner's head. Something tells me we should wait until later to ask him.

"So tell him you're spending the night at a friend's house," I suggested watching the ball roll its way back into play.

"He'll find out. He always finds out!"

"Hm, bummer. Well he's not your mom, right? Is he even your legal guardian? Just say you'll be out late and you'll be fine!"

"He'd be pissed."

"So?"

"Do you want to go against the wrath of Cloud?" he asked offensively.

_~If you burn my home or my brother I'm going to have to run you over. Have fun!~_

"No, I really don't."

"Your brother's Cloud? That's Cloud Strife, right? I'll ask him if you want! I have that class for home room!" chimed the cheerful voice of our fellow team mate, Zack.

"Really? You'll do that?" asked Roxas.

"Sure! Cloud's cool, I bet I can get him to listen to me! Oo! Ball!" he yelled running off to take possession.

"That guy's like one big puppy. Is he Man Hunting tonight?"

"Yep! He and his brother came as an automatic packaged deal. God I feel sorry for whoever has to take him down," I responded watching him launch the ball right into Hayner's arm. Nice move on his part but man that victory couldn't be sweet!

"Shit! Fuck! OWWW!"

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT LANGUAGE? Give me twenty more! Slip up again and yer outa here!"

"That poor kid is getting no mercy," I said watching him and the coach go at it for a second.

"No kidding," he responded sending him an apologetic look.

"Well, might as well ask the others while I'm here," I said turning up court to Marluxia. "Hey, Marly! Feelin' up for some Man Hunt tonight?"

"Sorry but no. Me and Larxene have plans," he said paying minimal attention to the game.

"Alright, cool," I said not wanting to dig any deeper. Whatever they had planned I did NOT need to know.

"What about you Saix?" I asked turning to the bluenette leaning against a nearby wall. Typical Saix, not even trying.

"Actually I have plans too."

"What? You too? Why? Just blow them off!"

"Sorry but they're too important. Why don't you try Riku?"

"Fine, but it won't be the same without you," I said wandering to the other side of the court to meet the younger of the brothers. Roxas followed not far behind. In a game like this it wasn't important enough to stay put.

"Riku! Man Hunt tonight?" I asked.

He'd been talking to that Red head girl. I think her name was Kairi? Anyway he readjusted his attention to me.

"Actually, Sora and I were gonna-"

"Gonna do the same thing you've done every night this week?" asked Roxas narrowing his eyes. I couldn't help but feel for Roxas. He and his brother used to always be together, but since Riku and Sora started dating, he'd hardly seen him alone.

"Yeah, basically."

"I think you too can spare one night. What do you say?" I asked speeding this process along.

He shrugged, "I guess."

"Oh, can I come? This sounds like fun!" that Kairi girl chimed in.

"This isn't fun missy! Its war! Do you think you can handle that?" I asked shouting.

"Sir yes sir!" she responded saluting me.

"Good! Ask your sister if she wants to play too, we need bodies," I said watching said girl narrowly miss a save on our goal.

"Okay! I'll ask both!"

"Wait, there's three of you?" I asked.

"Yeah! We're triplets!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

Creepy. "Okay cool."

Suddenly a ball hit the court right into her legs disrupting our little meeting. Without warning, Roxas, Riku and I dispersed leaving behind not so much as a word.

"Well, that went well I think," I said turning to my little blond shadow. "You better come tonight; it's going to be amazing."

"Well, I'll try. I just hope Cloud doesn't hate Zack."

We both watched as Larxene ran over Hayner and stole the ball. "Wait, aren't they on the same team?" asked Roxas confused.

"Larxene likes to steal the show. Plus her lack of penis allows her to get away with pretty much anything here," I stated watching yet another argument unfold between the brown eyed target and Coach Wallace.

"I'm so glad she's not coming tonight," he responded shaking his head.

"Yeah it's kind of hard to read what team she's on."

We watched the flustered blond line up for a free kick. Once he let it sail we watched the ball fly in what seemed like slow motion right into Wallace's face. Classic fucking shot, we couldn't help but snicker, but once the yelling started, all we could do was stand there.

"Shit he's really laying down the law," I said watching in horror. "I haven't seen him yell like that since Seifer."

"Seifer?"

"Yeah, when he was his punching bag freshmen year," I stated bluntly.

"No, I mean what's he doing?" the blond asked referring back to the screaming fest that was taking place. It looked and sounded a lot like he was defending Hayner. In a way that thought was scarier than Wallace's actual yelling.

"WHADGA SAY ALMSEY? YA REALLY WANT TO GET IN ON THIS? YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS HIM!"

"And yet I've never gotten worse than a detention because you always start it."

"BOTH OF YA! OUT OF MY GYM! I DON'T WANT TO SEE EITHER OF YOUR FACES! NOW!"

"Sure thing."

We watched silently as the two boys walked past us and into the locker rooms. Scary business! I guess I'd be asking Seifer later as well.

**Zack**

I walked into homeroom on a mission. As a big brother myself, I knew what it would take to get Cloud to say yes. It wasn't going to be easy though, I'd have to be careful of delivery.

Cloud was sitting next to Mr. Sparrow at his desk. Mr. Sparrow was playing online poker while Cloud scanned through a short stack of hand written essays. The position is perfect, the time is now!

I swung a chair from a nearby desk around and placed myself next to him. "Hey Cloud! Nice shirt! The light blue really makes your eyes pop!"

"What do you want Zack?" he said putting the paper he had been reading on top of the pile.

"What, I can't have a nice little conversation with you anymore?" I asked not dropping my gaze.

"Conversations aren't usually fueled by complements," He said narrowing his eyes. And now to dive right in. Bold move, I know, but if you pull it off it'll soften the blow of the initial haggling.

"Yeah that's true. I was hoping I could get you to let Sora and Roxas play a little game with us tonight! It's called Man Hunt." I said. It'd be really helpful if it had a friendlier name.

Cloud raised an eyebrow, "Man Hunt? What kind of game s it?"

"It's….. Well it's kind of like an extreme game of tag. You see, the object is-"

"Why isn't Sora or Roxas asking me about this?" he asked cutting me off. And now for a little exaggerated truth.

"Because you scare them I guess. I don't know. The problem is the game starts at 8."

"They know what time they need to be home by," Cloud said straightening the stack of papers he was reading then diving right back in. Wow, this guy was more like a parent than a big brother.

"Well, that's the other problem. I'm pretty sure we're all crashing at Riku's place afterwards."

"Riku?" asked Cloud putting down the stack.

"What? I didn't say Riku's! I said Saix's!" I said trying to recover. I forgot that staying at ones boyfriend's house is generally frowned upon by parents and older siblings alike.

"Nice try, I know they're brothers," he said completely unmoved.

"Crap! Okay, but I'll make sure they aren't alone all night! I'll even sleep between them if I have to!" I said in desperation.

"Then I'd have to worry more for you. I'm sorry, but I don't want Sora and Roxas out all night if I don't know what's going to happen."

"Then I'll keep you informed! I'll make sure Sora and Roxas sleep in the same room completely away from Riku!"

"And Axel?" he asked folding his arms.

"Wh- Axel? Yeah, sure! No problem!"

Cloud sat for a second staring at me.

"Just do it mate! Clearly the boy has it under control," said Mr. Sparrow waving a hand in the air, not even glancing away from the screen. "I used to play Man Hunt myself back in college. Hell of a good time! I even have the battle scars to prove it!" He said lifting his shirt slightly to revel a rather large faded scar just above his hip. "S'from when I jumped into a trench full of rocks trying to get away. Worked too because nobody catches Captain Jack Sparrow!" he announced proudly letting his shirt fall back down.

"Captain sir?" asked Cloud.

"All this 'Mister' business is getting a bit old. Thought I'd spice it up a bit."

"No one's going to call you captain sir," Cloud said before turning back to me. "If either of my brothers come back from this game acting like him," he pointed a finger to his right where Mr. Sparrow sat, "I'll kill you."

"Deal! So they can come?"

"You'll keep them safe?" he asked questioning me.

"Yeah! I'll even make sure Riku gets hurt if you want!" I said attempting to sweeten the deal.

"That's alright. I'd rather not have a lawsuit on my hands. I'm sure his father would jump at that."

"Axel?"

"Yeah, you can go ahead and hurt Axel. I want that T shirt back anyway."

Why does Axel have Cloud's T shirt?

"Awesome! I'll tell them right after this class!" I said picking up my chair and putting it back in its rightful place, "And thanks by the way!" I added flashing him a big smile.

He gave a small smirk before picking up a pen and continuing his previous work. I decided to join my little brother at a desk in the back of the room.

"Oh, Zack!"

I stopped mid step and turned.

"You'll keep me informed?"

I nodded.

"Then you'll probably need this," he said scribbling really fast on a sticky note. I took it from his hand. It was a phone number. Wait, phone number? I GOT CLOUDS PHONE NUMBER!

"Please, if either of them does something stupid and hurts themselves call 911 then call me. I'm going to want to scream at them."

"And if I want to text you for fun?"

"How about we get through tonight first?"

"Deal!" I said turning, paper in hand, to my original destination.

"What was that all about?" Zex asked as I sat next to him.

"Just taking care of business."

**Roxas**

To be honest I was completely thrilled for tonight! Pence and Olette agreed to come and Namine above everyone else was pumped. I was having trouble reaching Hayner though. He disappeared at lunch and I hadn't seen him since. I couldn't get through to his phone either; he must have let it die. The whole situation scared me a bit. After his little scene with Coach Wallace today and whatever Seifer did to him in the locker room, I didn't really like the thought of not knowing where he was.

"Why don't we stop by his house?" Demyx suggested from the back seat. Axel, Demyx, Zexion, Zack and I were crammed into Axel's jeep wasting time.

"Sure, why not? Where does he live Roxy?" asked Axel not tearing his gaze from the road.

"Towards the school," I responded. If he wasn't home I was going to call a search party.

It didn't take us long to reach his house. Personally, I was just glad to get out of that car. I heard the passenger side door slam shut as I opened the door to the house and walked right in like I usually do. That's a pretty good sign. If his parents aren't home yet and the doors unlocked then he's got to be in here.

"Hayner?" I called down a stair case to the basement. _Of course he's in his room _I thought climbing the flight next to it making a bee line for his door.

I turned the knob without hesitation. "Hayner, are you- OH SHIT! SORRY!" I said slamming the door shut. I could hardly believe what I just walked in on! I ran back downstairs to meet the confused group of teens gathered in Hayner's living room.

"Well, was he there?" asked Zexion as I settled myself in.

"Yeah, he was."

"And?"

"And I figured out where Seifer is too," I said rubbing my neck awkwardly.

"Really? Awesome! Where?" asked Demyx.

"Oh…. You know…. Attached to his face…."

For a second everyone was quiet. Then Axel and Demyx burst out laughing.

"No freaken way! Hayner's? That's gotta be a mistake!" Axel said practically crying in amusement.

"Well why don't you go see yourself?" I said crossing my arms.

"Don't think we won't!" Axel yelled as the two boys climbed the stairs reaching the room I'd just fled from. I saw the door close behind them eliminating any chance we had of listening in.

Zack was the first one to break the silence. "So aren't Hayner and Seifer….."

"Pretty much sworn enemies, yes," I said driving the conversation away from the subject.

We sat there, Zack and Zexion talking while I stewed in the juice of that strange, strange memory for what seemed like an hour. Then I heard the door open once more, four figures making their way down the stairs to finally complete our little group. I would have liked to have greeted my best friend, but seeing him emerge behind that tall blond bastard completely threw me off.

I avoided looking in their direction by instead turning to Axel. "So, how'd it go?"

"Great! Turns out you just spooked the poor little burn outs," he said patting Seifer on the back.

"Don't touch me."

"Noted."

"WHY THE HELL WERE YOU TWO KISSING?" I screamed. Those who know me well will find I am not a patient person.

"What? Wait! No, we were not-"

"You're stupid," I said cutting Hayner off.

"Actually you just caught us while we were smoking and this idiot closed the window while I was holding it in, so I got rid of it," Seifer said nonchalantly putting his hands in his pockets.

"In Hayner's mouth?" asked Axel jumping aboard the skeptic train.

"Well…. Yeah," he responded. I could practically see his mind floating away into space. He looked blissful.

"Dude, that's a kiss," Axel said smirking.

"No, it's really- Yeah fine. Whatever, it was a kiss," he said in defeat. Wow. Normal Seifer would at least put up a fight. Who was this guy anyway?

"What? NO IT WASN'T!" Hayner said dropping his bag of chips. Hold on a second, when the fuck did he get those? Does he have like, super high kid munchie powers?

"Why not? If it'll get them to shut up."

Hayner opened his mouth to protest, but only managed to groan before picking up the bag he had dropped and shoving a handful of Lays in his mouth instead. Reaching into the bag, Seifer did the same thing. Wonderful. We have two high idiots on our hand who are clearly out of their minds. Wait a second!

"AND YOU GOT HIGH WITH HIM? WHAT THE HELL IS YOU ISSUE?" I erupted in a moment of sudden realization.

"Okay, don't look at me man! I wanted to get rid of him but no matter how hard I tried he wouldn't leave! It was bugging me!" he retorted.

"So you smoked him out?"

"Yes….."

I couldn't believe it. It was like talking to a child.

"Didn't he knee you in the stomach earlier?" I asked giving one last attempt to let him see this through my eyes.

"Yeah but I'm so blazed I can't even feel it anymore!"

Super face palm moment. Okay, I can see where this was going.

"So how's that working out for you," I asked dropping my hand from my forehead.

"Well….. I don't want to rip this guy's spleen out anymore….." he said turning his head to Seifer.

"Appreciate it," Seifer responded shoving another fist full of chips in his mouth.

"Good, good. Glad to hear. So are you going to Man Hunt with us?" I asked detaching any further conversation from this subject. The whole thing gave me a head ache, but you can defiantly bet I'd be bringing this up later!

"Oh yeah dude sure!" he said beaming.

"Well we're staying at Riku's place so get ready."

The boy handed his bag to Seifer shouting "Okay!" before bolting up the stairs and back into his bedroom.

"How do you guys plan to get through this game stoned off your ass?" I asked turning to the remaining baked blond.

"Hey don't dis high kid Man Hunt tactics! They may be dumber but those bitches are paranoid," stated Axel snatching the bag of Chips from Seifer and taking a handful of his own. Seifer hit him in the stomach causing Axel to recoil in pain before stealing them back.

"Yeah yeah very interesting. So who's driving?" he said shoving a hand into the bag.

It got quiet for a second, and then everyone turned to Axel.

"No freaken way man! I drove last time, I get to run today! I'm entitled to it! Who else do we got?"

"I can't drive," I said flat out.

"Me either," followed Zexion turning to his brother.

"Oh hey! I can!"

"Nope, not a chance! Your probably the fastest runner here, you're not allowed on the chasing team!" Demyx said turning down Zack's offer without a second thought, "Why don't I ask Rikku? I mean my sister Rikku, I don't think she-"

"NOOOOOO!" Axel screamed. Surprised, we all sat waiting for an explanation for this odd outburst. Collecting himself, he took a deep breath then said, "I've seen fire hydrants that drive better than your sister. To be honest, I don't want to die today."

"Okay, do you have any better suggestions?" asked Demyx putting his hands on his hips.

"Reno," Axel said leaving it at that.

"Hell no! Remember the last Man Hunt he drove for? He sicked a pack of angry, hungry blood hounds on us! I've still got scars!" protested Seifer returning to Earth.

It was then that Hayner reappeared carrying a small back pack, "So what are we talking about?"

"Axel's brother or Demyx's sister. Pick one." I told him. This was getting settled now.

He blinked frozen in mid step. I wanted to believe he was thinking but his face was completely blank.

"What are my options again?"

"Axel's brother or Demyx's sister imbecile!" Seifer repeated bitterly.

"Fine, Axel's brother I guess!"

"You are so gay," I said messing with him.

"Wait, why? What did you just make me pick?"

"So gay," I said shaking my head. A few of the others did the same.

"You guys are jerks!"

"Okay, so Reno then?" Axel asked whipping out his phone.

"Sure," Demyx said.

"Why not," I asked. To be honest I was a little excited to meet Axel's brother.

"I'm not fucking running," said Seifer with as much spite as he could muster.

"Fine by me. Fu's got a truck, right? You can be chasing team number two." Axel said ever the problem solver.

"You invited them?" Seifer asked puzzled.

"Well, no, but you know them. They have some kind of Seifer tracking device implanted in their skull. I'm sure they'll find you," Axel explained typing something into his phone then holding it to his ear.

I highly doubt that.

"Probably right," Seifer said shrugging.

**Zexion**

Finally, its 7:34 and after clown car-ing our way to the train station Axel was off to pick up his brother. Our last minutes of preparation came down to here and now. Nearly everyone was here. At this point the only ones we were waiting on were Axel and Reno of course as well as Seifer's friends who Seifer, Demyx and Axel had assured would be here. I'm sure they know them well enough to tell when they would show, but I didn't and it seems strange to me that we can just rely on someone that we haven't even attempted to contact.

"Hey Zexy, getting pumped?" Demyx asked pulling an ear bud from my ear.

"Yeah, definitely," I responded taking the ear bud back from him.

"Good. Are you clear on what you're doing tonight?" he asked propping himself down against the station door with me.

Well, I wasn't going to get rid of him. "Actually, I'm chasing, right? I'd kinda like to know the rules again."

"Hey yeah, we should go over them again with everybody since there's so many new players this time," Demyx suggested getting up once more.

Any further plans to gather the troops were cut off by the rumbling engine of a rather large car making its way up the hill toward the station. A truck turned into the large square and parked at the curb. This wasn't Axel, so does that mean it's…

A short girl with silver/blue hair hiding half of her pail round face emerged from the driver's side door leaping from the seat to the pavement bellow. "Seifer!" she called.

"Hey Fu," Seifer called from his spot in the corner of the square where he was watching the starry sky dim more and more the last half hour.

"There you are man! We've been searching for you for like, an hour y'know!" came the voice of a much taller, tanner and clearly dumber man who emerged from the passenger's side. So these two were Rai and Fu, the magical duo with extreme Seifer tracking abilities.

"Perfect timing you guys it's a Man Hunt. We're chasing," Seifer said walking out to their car.

"Oo! Let's go make sure everything's alright!" Demyx said grabbing my arm and pulling me up. Maybe I'm too light, cuz I'm getting tired of being dragged everywhere.

"Really? Man Hunt? I don't know, kinda last minute. Where's the warning y'know?" said the one I assumed was Rai.

"Well, you have anything better to do?" asked Demyx entering this conversation.

"Hm…. I don't know."

"Then its settled. Fu's driving."

"Ecstatic."

"So how much more time do we have, y'know?"

Demyx, Seifer and I glanced at the gigantic clock face atop the station tower, "We have sixteen minutes, but really I think we're just waiting for Axel and his brother."

"Reno? Gasp y'know," Rai said. A few more 'y'know's' there and I was about ready to run him over God be damned my lack of driving experience.

"I know that's why we're driving too."

"And there's enough people running that two driving teams are probably necessary! We got like ten new people!" added Demyx.

"Who?" asked Fu, glancing past us at the mass of familiar faces never before joined for such a whimsical occasion.

"We're chasing those back alley losers? They ain't got a prayer, we're going to kill them y'know," Rai said not bothering to keep it a secret. Hayner glared up from his group of friends. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be swayed by this at all.

"Yeah, probably," Seifer said throwing wood on the fire.

It didn't register to me when the jeep returned, but once the car doors swung open and closed again I was sure of Axel's presence. Successful, if you ask me considering he returned with a second Axel, only a little taller and with long hair.

"Alright, gather round children! We have about seven minutes before its go time!" called Axel summoning his victims to the center of the square. Everyone dropped what they were doing and gave the commanding red head their full attention.

"So Zexion, Roxas, this is Reno, my brother. You're going to be chasing with him."

"What? I thought I was running!" complained Roxas from his group of friends.

"Well, you have too many runners so we victimized you. I mean devictimized you. Don't worry, Reno's nice to people he doesn't know," Axel said looking a little worried. Maybe he said that to convince himself.

"Oh yeah, you can bet I'll be extra nice to you yo!" Reno said wearing a devious grin.

"Reno's going to stop talking now."

"So Axel, we have a bunch of new people who probably didn't get to know the rules. We should go over them before its go time so there's no cheating."

"Right! Can I have your attention! Gentlemen, welcome to Man Hunt," Axel said commanding full attention once more. "The first rule of Man Hunt is:"

"You do not talk about Man Hunt?" I cut in barely listening.

"Yeah, okay sure, why not? The second rule of Man Hunt is:"

"Yay! You do not talk about MAN HUNT!" Demyx added thrilled. I'm sure the same thing that's going through my mind was going through his. After all, I'd watch anything with Jared Leto in it.

Then Axel kinda lost us as more people chimed in.

"The third rule of Man Hunt is:"

"If someone yells 'stop' or taps out, the fight is finished," a few voices picked up amongst the mass of people.

"Okay did I ask for help from the peanut gallery? No! We're getting pumped for Man Hunt not Fight Club so stop confusing the new ones or someone's gonna get hurt! I do NOT want anyone run over today! " shouted Axel strapped for time.

We all piped down and listened.

"Good. We're starting here and ending at Riku's place. That's about four miles, so, first rule of man hunt, Driver's must wait ten minutes from the starting point after the runners take off before searching for them. Second rule, Runners can only follow vehicle accessible routs to the finish line. Third rule, Drivers cannot puppy guard the finish line. They must be out searching at all times. Fourth no dogs," Axel paused to look at his brother who confirmed that he understood, "And lastly, runners, if you are touched, tagged, tackled, or even stepped on by a chaser you're caught. Other than those things anything goes. You can hide in trenches or grasses along the road and once you're spotted you can jump into people's back yard and try to escape. Chasers may use their cars however they want as long as no one gets killed," he said eyeing Seifer's team, "but just remember the point of this is not to get arrested, so if someone tells you to get out of their yard do it before police are called," Axel finished.

"What are the team names?" asked Namine tucked comfortably between her two sisters.

"I don't know, Seifer usually makes them up to be funny," said Axel.

"Your team," Seifer said pointing a finger at the first group with the triplets, Olette, Pence and Hayner, "Team estrogen."

"Right, I see it. Cuz were a team full of girls," said Hayner crossing his arms.

"Exactly. You guys can be team Guy Liner," he said pointing to Axel's team. I guess they could be. Demyx, Axel and Sora had eye liner on at least.

"Ha! Its our name! Now you have to let me put some on you!" Sora said crawling onto Riku's lap and pulling his eye liner out of his pocket.

"Hey, hold on! I still don't-"

"Come on man get in the spirit," Axel said watching the little brunette attempt to draw on Riku's face. I'd struggle too.

"I don't even know what to call your team Reno," Seifer said turning from him.

"What about Raging Metallic Psycho Awesome Ninja Freaks Yo!" offered Reno completely off the top of his head.

"No way,"

"Not a chance," both Roxas and I denied.

"Sounds good," said Seifer, "That leaves our team."

"How about team brain dead cuz you guys have got nothing," Hayner suggested from his perch next to Pence and Olette.

"I wouldn't be sure so since I spared you the team name "Human night light". That girl is a dead giveaway," he said referring to Namine. She was wearing a white flowery T and a pair of black shorts. Remarkably, Seifer was right. Her pale skin and thin blond hair seemed to stand out against the night. Even in complete darkness she could be spotted from miles away. They didn't have a chance. "I've never tried to find a person who actually glows in the dark. Good strategy."

"Well then, we'll just see how this turns out."

"How about team Discipline that way you're scary and not making fun of other teams!" said Demyx watching the time.

Axel recommended the attention, "Whatever I don't care! So Team Guy Liner and Team Estrogen run," Seifer snickered and Hayner scoffed, "And Team Discipline and Team…."

"Raging Metallic Psycho Awesome Ninja Freaks Yo," said Reno. It was like it just rolled off his tongue.

"Team Reno's words, are chasing. You can leave at 8:10. Everybody ready?" I could see all sixteen faces light up as they glanced at the softly lit tower before the two teams. Meer seconds until departure.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Ring! The clock began singing the melody of a new hour.

"GO!" Axel screamed. His team immediately sprinted into a run across the square and down the hill. Hayner's team ran at a distance behind them. They wouldn't want to be too close in case one of them was caught.

**End of first part! We're just getting started! Can you believe that? Well next chaper we'll decide who the master of fate is (Other than me)! But first, let's see…. Echelon refers to 30 Seconds to Mars' fan base. Or their "Family" as Jare Bear says. Same goes for Little Monsters and Lady Gaga in case you didn't know, and for those of you who are not familiar with "The game" referenced by Axel and Demyx at the beginning of this chapter, the game is something you've been playing your entire life. When you think about the game you lose the game. Once the game has been lost, you have five minutes to forget it again before you can lose once more. So enjoy that! See you next chapter!**


	6. Gentlemen, Welcome to Man Hunt Part II

**Okay! The game has begun! Chasers are at the ready! Who, if anyone will make it? And Saix? You can bet he's having a moment here! By the way, the sugar glider's names come from another one of my favorite video games! Can you guess which one it is? I don't own shit! Rated M and such- OFF TO THE FESTIVITIES!**

**Saix **

It was time my friends. After about two and a half hours of running scan-trons through a machine, grading from a scale, and recording results in a grade book, it was time for Mr. Xemnas and I to transport the sugar gliders to their temporary home, my bed room. I couldn't wait!

"We'll load the cage and all their supplies into my car."

"We don't have any carrying case for them here, what do I do with them?"

"They probably just want to sleep, take them along with you in your car, they'll be fine," said Mr. Xemnas opening the cage. James and Maria both stuck their heads out of the pouch to analyze the intrusion. Their eyes were a bit foggy and their ears were flat. I could see why Mr. Xemnas was worried.

He unclipped their bag and pulled the pair out of the cage handing them to me. As soon as I grabbed hold of the top the little rodents jumped out of the swinging death trap and into my hoody pocket. Well, I could keep track of them here at least.

"Grab part of the Cage, and please don't crush the Sugar Gliders," Mr. Xemnas said as we managed to carry everything we needed in one trip to his car.

"Good, I'll follow you to your house. As prestigious as your family name is it's a shame to say I still couldn't navigate us to your dwellings."

Okay now…. What? I have to lead? Well that shouldn't be too hard. I mean, I'm a great driver. I'm WAAAY better that Yazoo or Loz ever were, Riku and Kadaj can't drive yet, and dad has someone drive him to and from work. I'm probably the best driver in the family, if you disclude my mother. She's such a good driver that one day she drove away and never came back.

I got into my car, sugar gliders snuggled comfortably inside my hoody and waited for Mr. Xemnas to do the same. So how do you turn this thing on again? I'm trying to put it in drive but it's not listening to me!

_Maybe it's because the keys are still in your pocket!_

I patted the spot in my pants that inevitably still contained my keys. I hate it when the sarcastic voice in my head is right.

Turning my keys in the ignition, I pulled out of the parking lot at a crawl and merged onto the first main road. Have you ever had a teacher, coach, or instructor follow you before? It's a very stressful occasion. Now add in that this teacher is the only person I've ever felt the need to impress and we have a heart attack waiting to happen. What kind of driver is he? I'd never even thought about it! Does he like to obey every single traffic law or does he ignore a bunch like everyone else in the world? Is he going to get mad if I sit right on the speed limit the entire way home? I'll take the scenic route so I have a little more freedom.

Turning onto a road that wrapped around the side of a mountain, I felt a little more at ease. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky a magnificent assortment of yellows and oranges that faded into the tree line. I could hardly believe only a few car lengths behind me Mr. Xemnas was witnessing the very same treasure trove of beauty. It relaxed me back to the point of your average driver, and also opened my ears to the deafening silence strung throughout my car.

I reached for my radio. The second I flipped the switch though, a rough beat outlined by heavy base poured from my speakers, choking the serenity out of my drive. Riku…. Once more I reached for my radio, but as I did so I was overcome by feeling of pure danger. Grabbing the wheel with both hands I slammed on the breaks and started feeding the wheel right. Narrowly avoiding the unknown obstacle, my car fishtailed atop the loose gravel leaving me halfway off the road facing the complete opposite direction of traffic. My poor car lodged driver's side in a small ditch lining the side of the road. Somewhere amongst the chaos I remembered seeing Mr. Xemnas swerve around stopping not too far ahead. I bet he thinks I'm insane.

_Knock knock. _Those little taps snapped me right back into the present, so I took this opportunity to turn the knob on my radio all the way to silence. Mr. Xemnas was outside the passenger side door with a look of concern. In the very least this would spice up my memory. Crawling over to the passenger side, I opened the door and stumbled out. Not wanting any direct contact I made a bee line for the nose of my car which was lodged in the pit. Luckily there didn't seem to be any damage, I'd just have to dislodge it later.

"That was quite a reaction. I didn't even see that deer."

I blinked before turning, "There was a deer?"

"Of course, did you hit your head in that little spill? It wasn't exactly graceful, though no one could have done any better."

"My head's fine. Honestly I didn't see anything, just felt scared."

"Well, I'm glad you're alright."

I felt my heart flutter. Afraid I might let slip how glad that made me, I wandered back to the side of my car. For now, it was useless. I propped myself against the door.

"How are the Sugar Gliders?"

My eyes widened in panic. I'd completely forgotten! Small animals and car crashes are NOT a good combination! Shoving my hands into my front pocket, I felt one stir from the sudden intrusion. Overcome with relief, I did something I never imagined I was capable of. I burst into a fit of uncontainable laughter. It was beyond my control, I couldn't help it. I held the two tiny creatures against my stomach as I leaned forward gasping for air.

"I fail to see the humor," said Mr. Xemnas, "But I'd be more than happy to partake in this little joke if only I were informed."

I thought for sure when I looked up I'd see a trace of disgust in my sudden outburst, but to my surprise I was greeted with the most radiant smile I'd only dreamed of. Never once had I seen it at school. At times I thought any true sign of whim within him was locked away and hidden; the same way I'd done to myself. Only in this moment could I ever see such a ridiculous yet perfect display unfold.

"Th- they didn't even wake up!" I said holding my ribs between fits of laughter.

"I see. Even after all this. They must feel very safe in your possession. I have to say though it was quite worth it to hear you laugh after two and a half years."

I allowed a soothing calm to overcome me once more, but in the end I still couldn't keep a straight face. Not when such sweet words continued to roll from the tongue of my beloved teacher.

"Is it really worth the near death experience?" I asked looking him in the eye.

"Absolutely. Between that and your smile entire armies would stop and stare."

I'd never once been this happy to be alive. His eyes put the glow of the evening sunset to shame, but that elegant smile stole my heart in an instant. I never want to leave, to let this moment go. More than anything, I want to kiss him. Instead I let my eyes drop. I know he's a teacher, and I know the real reason we're here. I wasn't going to ruin it now.

"Shall we pry your car from that ditch?"

"Actually I think we should get these guys home first," I said shoving my hands back in my hoody pocket, "I think they've had a long enough day. We're pretty close to my house. No one really uses this road either, so it'll be fine for now."

"Alright then, let's be off."

After pressing the "Lock" and "Alarm" settings on my key chain, we both leapt into his car and made the short drive the rest of the way to my house. The drive was quiet but the initial awkwardness I'd expected never settled in. If anything there was a heavy air of lost opportunity hanging between us; every bit of it radiating from me.

"Rather large, wouldn't you say?" asked Mr. Xemnas pulling up to the gate.

"It's even bigger on the inside. My father enjoys flaunting his good fortune. If you press that button one of the workers will let you in."

He did as I said, rolling down his window and pressing the button in front of the intercom. We waited a couple seconds, no reaction. Mr. Xemnas repeated the process.

"Intruder! Please leave the premises or weapons will be involved in your immediate removal."

"Kadaj, open this gate now!"

"Oh! Saix that's you! I thought it was Yazoo bringing another random guy I've never seen before home."

"No, Kadaj this is my teacher," I said pinching the base of my nose.

"Really? Why are you bringing your teacher home?"

"Open the gate you slug, we have business."

"Then I guess it's good that Riku and his boyfriend aren't home taking care of their own business!"

"Now Kadaj!"

"Alright, I'm going!"

The bared fence slowly began to open allowing the vehicle access.

"I'm sorry about him; he's a pest I know," I said still pinching that point between my forehead and face.

"That's quite alright, I understand how brothers are," he said slowly pulling forward.

"You have brothers?"

"I have an older brother. He's the one who recommended me for the job at North Twilight."

"So he works at the school?"

"Actually he's the vice principal," he responded throwing the car in park and unbuckling his seat belt.

"What? You're related to Mr. Leighty? No way! How come I didn't know that? And why don't you go by Leighty too?"

"Well, I don't like that name, I don't want to be confused with my brother, and I like the thought of coming into a new school without any assumptions attached between Xehanort and I, So I go by my first name."

Wow. I did not know that. I'd never heard of Xemnas as a last name, but I really didn't expect a teacher with so much dignity to allow his students to call him by his first name!

"Promise you'll keep it a secret?" he asked opening his door a crack.

"Of course."

"Good."

Once again scrambling to gather all the supplies, we stumbled to the front door of my humble dwellings. Immediately, the door swung open revealing to us the marble walls and columns filling the entrance hall.

"Did you even check to see if Yazoo's car was in the driveway?" I asked greeted with the not so pleasant view of my monstrous younger brother.

"Well I don't know, I just walked by and saw a strange car trying to get in! I thought the other guy picked him up or something," he said folding his arms. I remained completely unmoved.

"Well if you want to make up for your uselessness open the door to my room for us," I said hearing Mr. Xemnas struggle with the massive load he was caring.

"Psh! I already opened one door for you today, get the maid to do it. I'm busy," he said turning tail and disappearing behind another door leading to the basement floor.

"Not too busy to impersonate alarm systems!" I yelled after him. I couldn't understand how a boy who saw his father maybe twice a week could be such a brat. "Right this way," I said directing my teacher onward.

Again, a thick air of lost opportunity filled the space between us as he walked along side me to the sanctuary I claimed as my room.

_Between that and your smile entire armies would stop and stare._

What about teacher's? Armies of the highest caliber mean nothing to me, I'd rather have you.

"Okay, this is me. We can set up on my desk, I hardly ever use it." I said attempting to open my door while clutching the top part of the cage. I could feel the sugar gliders grow restless within my pocket.

Finally managing to work it open, I swung the door shut behind us out of habit.

"What a very clean room. I'd expect no less from you."

"Actually, to be honest I haven't cleaned it in years. The maids take care of it for us."

"Aw the benefits of wealth," He said placing the base of the cage on my desk. Looking down I noticed one of the Gliders poke its head out of my pocket. It blinked in the light before crawling up to my shoulder. That was Maria. She was defiantly the curious one. I raised a finger to stroke her head, but as I did so she leapt from her perch gliding safely to a high shelf containing a spider plant above my window.

"It seems as though they'll enjoy their temporary home. I'm glad I trusted you with them."

"Me too," I responded, the joy his trust gave me turning instantly to a deep longing. I wanted so bad to believe these words meant more than a simple compliment. I'd spent almost three years wishing there'd be a day I could look to him and see more than a teacher peering down at his student. Knowing it would never be a reality hurt more now than it ever had before. It simply wasn't fair.

"You seem displeased Saix. Anything I can help with?"

My mouth moved on its own, but to be honest, I don't think my brain disagrees with the action.

"Have you ever wanted something completely unobtainable? Something money can't buy and no one can give you?"

Mr. Xemnas blinked in surprise. I could feel a blush spring over my cheeks. This was a bad situation, I could tell.

"I've had my fair share of experiences. Is this some sort of personal matter?"

I nodded. My blush widened as I lowered my gaze even more.

"Wouldn't you feel more comfortable talking to your father about this?" he said analyzing my every move.

"That man's not a father, he's 'the man who owns this house'. I have no adult figures in my life I can really trust." I said, completely changing the tone of this conversation.

"I see," the teacher said allowing a quite fog to consume the small area. I couldn't tell exactly what hung in the air this time, but I'm sure it wasn't lost opportunity.

"In that case I'd have to say nothing in this world is truly unobtainable. I see hundreds of kids on a daily basis, every one of them consumed with their own chaotic existence. They wear their hearts on their sleeves letting their personal affairs control their every action, but you are the one acceptation. I've seen you obliterate tasks beyond your own capabilities. If there's something out there that's this worthy of your attention then I have confidence that you above any other will know the right thing to do because no one is as motivated as you."

At this point, all I wanted to do was cry. I was doing the right thing, I'm sure of it, but every word he said made it just that much harder. I completely tore me apart inside. I knew it was my fault for asking, but I wish he could only see how hard it was for me to listen to this.

**Text Intermission**

**Sora: **_Cloud, Riku and I aren't going to make it back to the apartment before Man Hunt. Do you have class tonight?_

**Cloud: **_No, but I have it Monday morning. So you want me to bring you your clothes?_

**Sora: **_Oh yes please dear brother! What would I do without you?_

**Cloud:** _I don't know, live with our parents?_

**Sora: **_I'd rather be here!_

**Cloud: **_I know you would. Does Roxas need clothes?_

**Sora: **_Probably! I'll text him and tell him not to worry about it!_

**Cloud: **_Sounds good. So where exactly am I bringing them and when?_

**Sora: **_Oh…. Um…. It's Riku's house and I guess around nine! Hold on a sec, I'll get you his address!_

**Roxas**

Once again, I found myself locked in that stupid jeep. I couldn't believe that about eleven hours of anticipation all came down to this. To be more specific, it came down to a rather quiet moody kid I've never talked to before in my life, Axel's brother who's introduction to me was just as abrupt as Axel's himself, and of course me, all shoved into a jeep watching time slowly tick away. Seifer and his gang were directly behind us parked a couple car lengths away, all in close quarters talking calmly together.

"What do you think they're saying," I asked watching the trio through the rear view mirror.

"Them? They're probably making up some sort of strategy. That pretty smart, you can't just dive into the unknown. We should probably do that too," he said turning to get a better look at me and Zexion.

"Okay, so how do we start?" I asked face resting in my hands.

"Well, it might be smart to get to know each other a little, I mean, do any of us actually know either of others?"

"Nope," I responded. Zexion just shook his head.

"Alright, clean slate yo! So tell me your names again then say….. I don't know, why you decided to come here tonight. Blondie, go!"

"Roxas. Axel invited me," I said turning my attention back to the clock.

"Really, so you just came for Axel? And what do you think of my dear brother?" Reno said fishing for answers. I'm not sure I like this little interrogation.

"Well no, I came because it sounded fun, and I don't know, Axel's pretty fun and really out there, but I met him like five days ago, I can't really formulate an opinion."

"Why not? It may be five days, but it feels like a life time, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah kinda. His personality really sucks you in, it's weird."

"Nothin' weird about it my friend! Unlike you, he's what you call a people person. Alright, next," he said shifting to Zexion in the back, "So emolicious, spill it."

His visible eye narrowed. Mine would too at such a reference, but I'm sure at this point he was used to them.

"My name's Zexion. Demyx begged me to come."

"Aw is that the only reason you came? Demyx drug you here? Lame yo what about the excitement?"

Zexion just shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright so down to business. We have…." Reno took a second to analyze the clock, "Three minutes and we gotta come up with something."

"You're the one who's played this before. Tell us, what should we do?" I asked.

"Well, that one estrogen team is as good as caught. Their ENTIRE team is all brand new to this game so they're going to mess up, but on top of that I doubt any of them have ever even been near Riku's house. They're running blind yo, but Riku actually lives in this place, so he probably knows every nook and cranny along the way. That means we gotta hit every spot possible and fast too."

"You've been there right?" I asked making sure we wouldn't be blind either.

"Oh yeah, I've Man Hunted there thousands of times. I can get us there; the big problem is seeing them then catching them. You're going to have to watch the right," he said gesturing to me, "and you're going to have to watch left," he said gesturing to Zexion, "I'll be watching the road most of the time so you gotta look hard. These guys are veterans and know what they're doing. Oh, and also, why you wearing skinny jeans yo? You're never going to catch anyone in those!"

Both Zexion and I looked down at our pants. Oh shit I didn't even think about that! These pants kill to run in! And I didn't even bring my pajama pants!

"Skinny jeans aren't a problem," Zexion said coolly.

"You may not think so, but they kill! I've tried catching people in them!"

"Believe me, I'll do fine, I have plenty of running experience in these."

"Sounds like someone's been a victim before! Who'd dare chase you? I know a bunch of people from North, I'll run over all of them!"

"Don't worry about it that was my old school."

"Still pretty messed up yo. Where'd you even go?

"St. Dominic's"

He took a second to absorb Zexion; his looks and his disposition, "Oh, well that makes sense. But look at it this way, now YOU'RE the one doing the chasing, so if it motivates you just think you're doing this for all abused little gay emo children in catholic schools! Rage war against the system it's time to break free yo and show the world what you got!"

"Why does everyone assume I'm gay? And why is everyone calling me emo? I'm not depressed, I never whine, I don't cut, and being stereotyped bugs me! At this point I'm going to chase everyone off a cliff just so they'll shut up!"

"Yes! Harness that anger! And harness the anger of your vampiristic four fathers! We can defiantly use that here!" Reno said I'm sure to get Zexion more and more ready to go in for the kill.

"Is it too much to ask for you to stop being a bitch? I'm not going to listen to this for the entire game."

"Alright I'll stop," he said with a smirk. Zexion didn't seem quite as entertained.

A sudden break in the silence outside and Seifer's team was right next to us, rolling their window down expecting us to do the same.

"We're taking the right side of Lexington, It's mostly uphill the entire way there. There's not as many nice neighborhoods in that area but it's really dark so we want to check it out," Seifer yelled into our open window.

"Alright cool so we have the neighborhoods on the mountain face? I can work with that yo."

"Hey Seifer!" I called beyond Reno.

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering if you were still blazed out of your mind!"

He paused for a second, "Yeah I'm still pretty up there. Thanks for the concern," he said before rolling his window up.

This was it, just a few more seconds and we'd finally be off! Three, two, one, go time. Reno and Fu raced out of the station at bone breaking speeds, it was almost too scary to even move a muscle, but I guess that's just the thrill of the game. The hunt is on!

I slid my phone from my pocket and quickly typed a text before flipping it shut and gripping the dash board for dear life as Reno blew through a sharp turn without slowing down at all.

_Ready or not, here I come! _To Axel, from Roxas with love.

**Seifer**

Searching for people by car isn't that hard of a task. Or at least not when you're sober ad can remember what you're looking for. My eyes just wouldn't focus and my mind kept wandering. Luckily the crazy jerks of Fu whipping around a corner or Rai yelling "GAH THAT'S THEM Y'KNOW!" when he sees a tree sway in the wind every once in a while reminded me exactly what it was that I'm doing here. I'm teaching Hayner a lesson on the real world.

"SEIFER ITS THEM Y'KNOW!"

"Rai I'm sure that dog or tree doesn't want to get ransacked. Start looking for people," I commanded staring out my window scanning lawns.

"Idiot."

"Hey, just watch the road y'know."

I returned my gaze directly in front of me as we left that neighborhood to find another. They couldn't have gotten any further than this. Both teams started running, so they could only have gotten slower as the game went on. This is as far as they could get.

"PEOPLE SEIFER!"

"People are normal to see outside. Look for ones we know!"

In the distance there was a dull yet tantalizing light that completely stole my attention. The color locked my eyes in place. I couldn't help but stare at the alluring ray, until my attention was stolen by something far more distracting.

What was that sudden flash? I dropped my gaze to a small figure crossing the street. What I can assume is a girl is in an extremely baggy jacket that comes to her knees, the hood up and wearing a pair of tall boots. Dressed warmly I see. You almost beat Vivi for least revealing outfit I've ever seen in my life.

Then I saw it again. That little flash. It came from the hood.

The light turned green and the girl disappeared into a neighborhood as we pulled up to them.

"Fu, turn around! I think I saw one walk into a neighborhood!"

Without hesitation, Fu jerked the wheel pulling a direct 180. "Which way?"

"Turn left," I instructed as Fu slowed to the speed limit before entering the neighborhood. Flipping her brights off and rolling down her window we followed the road then turned right. Looking into the trees, it was hard to tell shadows from people. I'm sure that was them, I recognize that jacket, its Hayner's. They were close, I know it!

A little flash.

"That house! They're in the yard!"

Fu slammed on the breaks as I bolted out my door. Rai did the same and Fu put the truck in park right in the middle of the road, getting out.

"Shit!" I heard in a tree. Milliseconds later that small blond girl jumped from the tree landing on a knee, "Was it my legs?"

"Actually I think it was your hair. That hoody kinda gave it away too," I said before making a dash for her. She wore Hayner's hoody like a dress.

She was fast, I'll give her that. She made it three houses down before I caught her.

"Now what?"

"Now you get in the truck while we gather the rest of your little friends." I said escorting her to the bed of the truck.

I glanced around to see how Fu and Rai were doing. Rai was coming up fast on Olette, but at the last second she made a huge leap. I couldn't see the obstacle, but Rai ran right into it falling flat on his face. I watched as his target disappeared behind the house.

"Fu, she's coming around to your side!"

"Got it."

Olette burst through the wooden gate, But Fu snagged her by the wrist.

"Terminated."

At about the same time I saw Rai rubbing his head as he walked back to the sidewalk. I also saw him step in front of fatty's escape route, but I figured he'd notice.

_Crash!_ He didn't.

"Ouch! I got one, y'know!"

"Uh, gross! You got blood on me! Why are you bleeding?"

"Because Wire fences shouldn't be black y'know!"

So that's three down, three to go.

"I see you sneaking back there," I said looking at a yard full of trees behind us.

"Darn, I was trying to get around you," said the red head clone stepping out of the foliage.

"You coulda ran," I said cornering her between her hiding spot, me, and where Rai and Fu were recuperating.

"Oh, I'll be fine!" she said. I took a step toward her and she ducked down attempting to side step me and made a run for it. I made a snatch for her but she managed to recoil away from it. Well, there's always plan B. I like that one better anyway.

I pulled hard on the small black rope I had been holding. The girl let out a surprised "EP!" as her face met asphalt. Ouch! Maybe a little too hard. Either way, trip wire: Effective. I tapped her on the head as she picked herself up into a sitting position.

"Fucken great! You caught me! My knee's bleeding now!" She said attempting to contain the mess with a single finger. That wouldn't work though, that thing was gushing. Opening my ears I heard footsteps running back up the street the way we came. I guess using a team mate as a decoy did though!

"Rai! Fu! Back up the street!" I yelled. Both instantly broke after the remaining runners while I stayed to help my second victim of the night. My first had leapt out of the bed of the truck to help as well.

"Do you have any paper towels or clean rags?"

"I think Fu keeps towels in the truck in case of emergency. I'll look."

"YOU'D BETTER!" screamed the bitter red head still sitting on the asphalt road.

"Hey, you wanted to come!"

I opened the door to the back, pulling the seat forward. There were a ton of batteries, a blanket, water bottles, and, yep! A couple small towels. She wouldn't mind if I took these.

"Got it. Here hold it with some pressure on that knee, but do it in the bed of the truck, we've gotta go," I said tossing the towels to the not bleeding sister.

Our other hostages helped them into the back while I turned to greet my team mates. Both empty handed.

"So where'd they go?"

"I don't know! When we reached the corner they were nowhere!"

"Decline!"

"So they ran down hill? They're not far, let's go!"

The three of us jumped back in the car and Fu threw it out of park and into reverse. I heard our victims scram and the load shift as Fu switched out of reverse and shot out of the neighborhood and down the hill. We drove back and forth down the rather empty stretch of road expecting to see them running. No person is fast enough to get away from a car, where are they?

"Alright, we're not thinking. Pull the car over we've gotta figure this out," I said the third time we approached the waterfall that split the neighborhoods apart. It ran down the hill and under the road just as it dropped a few meters. The water was ice as it shot out from below the bridge holding us up.

"This is as far as they could've gotten assuming they didn't go back into the neighborhoods which are basically big cul-de-sacs, so where are they hiding?" I asked stepping onto the edge of the bridge and peering over. I could see a bunch of small rocks rolling along down the mountain side as if they wished to become part of the waterfall themselves. That's an idea. It wouldn't be breaking any rules….

I grabbed hold of the edge of the railing and lowered myself beneath the structure. As I let go I immediately noticed the third of the clones, catching her breath beside the river. She stepped left, I followed her over. She stepped right, I repeated the process.

"What made you think to check the waterfall?" she shouted over the rumbling noise.

"That's just how good my tracking abilities are!" I shouted back, "Just give up and no one gets thrown into a river!"

"That's fine I don't even have the map!"

"Well who does?"

"Well Hayner had it but I think someone took it from him before we….. Lost him. Trying to walk with him is like escorting a big five year old when he's high, he kinda escaped us!"

So he's probably not with them, and he doesn't have a map. He probably got together with the other team! Either that or he's dead and being dissected in someone's basement right now.

"Come on! We gotta go!" I yelled grabbing her by the arms and giving her a boost back above the bridge. I pulled myself up too and helped her into the bed of the truck.

"Good going Seifer! So we have one more?"

"Yeah, accept he's not here, so we need to find the other team!" I said jumping into the passenger side door. Rai and Fu both jumped in too, Fu peeling off of the bridge and into the abyss. We had to start over, but now we had bodies to account for.

**Axel**

"Alright, are you sure we're safe taking an open mountain road to your house?" I asked looking out at the spectacular view along the trail. It felt extremely open even though it was completely dark.

"Yeah. They'd never expect us to take this way but it dumps out right by my house," Riku said interlocking fingers with his boyfriend and tugging him along with him. "Plus the plants here are so over grown if a car comes you can dive right in!"

"Okay, Sounds good, but if we get shot at on this road you're my shield!" I yelled folding myself against the right side of the road. This reminded me hard core of certain horror movies I've enjoyed in the past. Just please, if I die tonight, don't let it be like in Wrong Turn! DEAR GOD NOT LIKE WRONG TURN!

"We'll be fine. I'll go first if you want," suggested Zack. This guy was good. Not once had he jumped unnecessarily, and he hasn't slowed down or complained at all. He seemed army worthy, I'm glad we ended up with him.

We trudged on quietly. The moon was lost somewhere further up the road, but we didn't even want to make a sound because we weren't sure how well sound traveled up here. This was our final stretch and we had made it unharmed. As we climbed a little higher we passed a vehicle parked on the side of the road. Actually, it was lodged there. Was that Saix's?

"Hey Riku, is that your brother's car? I thought he was out somewhere."

We approached the piece of machinery.

"Dude, yeah, I wonder if he's okay? I'm going to text him," Riku said still holding hands with his little boyfriend. He put his other hand in his pocket pulling out his phone and typing a quick message.

"He'd be at your house anyway. Let's go!" I said egging the team on. We were so close I could taste it. Finally after almost two hours of walking in fear of capture, I could see the very edge of Riku's mansion. It was a large estate, but we only had to touch the front gate and we were in the clear! But something else caught my eye as well. We all ducked into the bushes by instinct. A car had turned onto a nearby road. It sounded like my jeep, but there was no way. Not a chance! I refuse to believe that after such a flawless run, after getting this far and not being spotted once, NOT ONCE, that they would catch up to us!

And now it was visible again. Visible and heading straight for us.

The car approached the edge of the road.

"No freaken way man! That's not them!" Demyx yelled behind me.

They flashed their brights a couple of times before leaving them off.

"Oh yeah Demyx, that's them!" I said jumping out of the bushes and down the road. Everyone did the same.

How, just HOW did they do that?

**Zexion**

Okay, we were freaking out! It had been an hour and forty five minutes into the game and we hadn't seen even a glance of our prey! They had to be SOMEWHERE close to us! They had to be! We've been to hell and back just looking for them and it's been almost two hours! The problem is that there are just SO FREAKEN MANY roads near Riku's house! It's like a maze! I HATE IT!

We rushed passed a dark Mountain road. It was completely quite, but I could have sworn I saw something move on it!

"Wait!" I commanded. Reno slammed on the breaks coming out of a turn. "Go back; I think I saw someone jump into the bushes back there!"

He backed it up and floored it all the way into the little mountain road.

"Good eye! That's defiantly them!" complimented Roxas completely thrilled to be granted the initial chase we had been craving.

"Shall we warn them of their doom yo?" Reno asked flashing his brights.

"I don't care just let me in the back!" Roxas screamed climbing over his seat and onto mine.

"Okay! I'll just move over then!" I yelled sarcastically shifting to the far right.

"Sorry," He said rolling down the window, "But I have one shot!"

"I'm coming up fast! Pass them?" asked Reno from the front.

"Yes!" Roxas yelled encouraging the distance. Okay, I know what's going on here.

As Reno passed the fleeing teens, Roxas pounced out the window tackling Axel strait into the bushes. It was scary as fuck! What if he missed? That would suck more than the head ache I'm sure Axel would have. I have to say, best strategy ever though! You show those skinny jeans whose boss!

Reno parked it just below the opposite group, turning them completely around. They wouldn't escape through the woods in this area. They were way too close to their target; it made way more sense to make a run for it! And of course on the other side was a steep hill. They couldn't make it without falling. It was perfect.

"Reno you traitor!" screamed Riku as we got out. He and his boyfriend were sprinting for their life towards that house. So, first targets of the night show me what you're made of!

I made a mad dash for the small one who was lagging. If anything I'd get away with one right now and head the other one off.

As I stretched my arm out to catch him, he stopped causing me to run right into him.

"Go Riku! You have to finish the game!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it yo!" Reno said disappearing. What, first he's a comedian and now he's a genie? This guy's unbelievable. I guess he could get Riku then, I mean, I hardly care.

"Go wait by the jeep," I told Sora who slumped back to the car. I took this moment to see what I could do. Very close to my right, Zack was breaking full speed for that very same target. No way, I hate chasing Zack! I know I'm faster, but he's just so slippery!

I sprinted after my brother, close on his tail. Once I had him in grabbing distance, I threw an arm out, but he twisted his body around it, switching our positions. I stopped and turned, attempting to block his every move. Both of us were still, just watching each other.

"So, you think you're going to get me? Take me down and ruin my chances at sweet victory?" he asked testing me.

"You're not getting past me Zack, This game is as good as done!"

"We'll see about that little brother!" he yelled dashing towards me. I lunged toward him, but he ducked just under my arm dive rolling into a perfect run towards the edge of the road.

"SHIT!"

"Hey Zack! Watch out for that Coniferous tree!" Axel yelled at him.

"What?" Zack stumbled jumping away from the tree opposite of where I could clearly see Roxas hiding. He leaped from behind a tall tree and tagged Zack, grabbing ahold of an arm causing both of them to swing slowly into the tall grass to the right. A much softer landing than Roxas' first catch!

"That's a Deciduous tree!"

"Axel, I'm not a botanist! Say left or right next time!" yelled Roxas' victim quite upset.

"Well sorry! I just wanted to help!"

_Crack! _"AH!" And Reno just got Riku. He'd jumped from a tree landing on his back. Poor kid went down in a flash. So that leaves one more runner on this team: Demyx.

I saw him at the edge of the road, beyond Roxas and Zack. His eyes met mine before he broke into a ferocious run. I wouldn't let him win. I could make up that distance.

**Demyx**

There was no way I was going to lose now! I'm so far ahead of everyone and I have just a few meters to cover! I sprinted as hard as I could, I don't think I've ever run this fast in my life, but what I heard behind me, it brought on pure terror in the pit of my stomach. Someone was closing fast and whoever they were, they weren't on my team.

The gate was just a couple strides away from me now! I just had to make it that far! I just have to-

_**CRASH!**_My conqueror sat proudly on my back as for the second time today, I ate shit. Not literally of course. Right now I tasted loose gravel and really long grass. Aw, so this is defeat.

"NO! NO! I WAS SO CLOSE! JUST TWO MORE STEPS! TWO!"

"Ha! I got you! I bet you didn't think I could catch you in these pants or with these short legs or with my hair in my eyes but GUESS WHO GOT YOU OUT! Oh yeah! I win!" Zexy sang as he shifted to my right allowing me to face my shame. But you know, even after this crushing defeat, all I could really think about was how happy it had made him. I think….. I think I would do anything to see him this happy all the time.

The flow of the moment was disturbed by a rather large engine to a truck carrying a bed full of fellow detained runners. The passenger side window opened to reveal the also familiar face of the other remaining chasers.

"WHERE'S HAYNER!"

"Wasn't he on the other team?"

"You're telling me you _didn't _see him?"

"Nope, nobody got Hayner," I heard come from the gate.

Oh, I sure as hell didn't see that coming! His very first Man Hunt, Hayner stood alone leaning against the bared destination.

"Oh my God HAYNER!" screamed one of the many girls climbing down from Fu's massive truck. This one was named Olette. I remember because when I think of that name it makes me want a fruity drink. I really don't know why. Anyway, she ran over to the victor and flung her arms around his neck. "Why didn't you let us know where you were or what you were doing?"

"Well, I would have but when I sobered up and realized I was alone, I remembered that I never charged my phone."

"No way, noooo ha ho, I refuse to believe you ran alone and won this game single handedly AND on accident!" yelled Seifer in complete disbelief.

Hayner pulled a very clean folded map out of his back pocket and threw it at the blond, "I bought it at a gas station after I got lost, then decided to come strait here, the most direct way possible. I thought for sure one of the teams would come across me, but no."

Seifer took a second to analyze the flimsy piece of paper he just had thrown at him, but before you knew it, he'd thrown it with all his might back at the smaller blond. If paper was made of bombs, Hayner would have been completely obliterated!

"We thought you were brutally raped then murdered and thrown into a lake and that if we found you it would be on the news being pulled out of that lake by some startled fisherman! You've GOT to let people know you're okay! Fuck that! You've just got to be smart enough to stay with the group!"

"Oh, so now I'm too independent? What do you even care anyway?" Hayner asked crossing his arms.

"Don't start that shit now or I'll throw you in a lake myself!"

So, I'm lost for a big chunk of this squabble!

"Discuss it inside ladies, please, everyone's here, so let's go!" Axel said throwing himself between the pair of seething blonds. The second he did so, as if by magic the large iron bar gate slid open, allowing us to fulfill Axel's request.

"Well guy's, I have to say, that was one hell of a finish. It had excitement, plot twists, furry, and a hint of romance. Very good. Very very good. Especially you, new kid. That was probably the best run I've ever seen."

Having been joined by the rest of our group, we all turned to see one Saix, sitting with his legs dangling from the top of a car inside the bared fence.

"Romance? What, are Riku and Sora trying to eat each other's face's again?" asked Zexion turning to the two in mention lagging behind the rest.

"Well, I hope not," he responded. We trudged our way into his compound, most of us either too tired or too injured to be enthusiastic about it.

"They better not!" came a very defensive voice from within. Cloud leaned cross armed against an ever stylish motorcycle.

"Cloud! You waited for us! Yay, I have so much to tell you!' chimed the short brown haired ball of energy releasing the hand of his better half in favor of hugging his older brother, "Oo! My pajamas! Aw Cloud, you're like, pure awesome! Thank you!"

"You're freaken right I am, and don't worry about the details, I think I've got the general idea," Cloud said detaching his brother from around his rib cage, "And you!" he shouted launching a second pair of pajamas at his other brother, "Did I really see you dive out of a car going thirty miles an hour?"

"Actually, it was only like twenty fiveish….. And ah, no. That was one of the other four blond people here," he responded peeling the clothes from his neck and chestal region.

"Sarcasm's not going to solve anything here."

"I'm not being sarcastic! Look! There's four other blond people here!"

"And you!" he said pointing a finger at Zack, "Weren't you supposed to be watching them?"

"W-well. I was watching Sora, but they decided last minute to make Roxas a chaser so….. I couldn't really do anything about it," he said hanging his head in shame.

"So, you lied to me then?" asked Cloud eyes narrowing.

Zack looked like a thousand kicked puppies condensed into one pitiful being. "I…. didn't…. mean to…."

Wow, even I couldn't match that face! It was just so sad and cute! Plus with such sparkly eyes? It's to die for!

"Alright, stop that," said the king of cold heartedness, "It's really not the worst thing I've ever seen Roxas do-"

"Yeah, remember that time we were watching Jump City?" asked Hayner reminiscing.

"And after I decided to jump off the candy shop's roof?" Roxas finished with a smirk.

"Or extreme arm wrestling?" added Seifer.

"Actually, no. That one sucked! I had bruises everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE!"

"Hey! What about P.E. yesterday!" I decided to throw in!

"Dude yeah! When Axel showed you how to set your arm on fire without burning yourself? That was so cool!" chimed Hayner once more.

"Axel taught my brother what?"

"Axel asks that you not hurt him because he's in a lot of pain already," Axel said putting a bit more distance between himself and the blond whose piercing glare produced ice in his soul.

"Axel should be more careful with such impressionable young boys," Cloud responded folding his arms.

"Okay, I'm almost sixteen and I'm not that impressionable!" shouted Roxas.

"You jumped off a building, let Seifer beat you up, and set your hand on fire," said Saix showing minimal amusement.

"Hey! You have no idea what motivates me!"

"So ANYWAY!" Cloud said returning to his original thought, "It's not the worst thing that I've seen Roxas do, even if it scared the shit out of me, and Axel HAS been hurt, so I'd say you did a good job."

Zack's eyes lit right back up, "So do I get a reward?"

"I don't know, what do you want?"

"You should let me ride your motorcycle!"

"Absolutely not!" Cloud said without hesitation.

"Then…. Can I text you for fun now?" Zack asked giving a coy questioning smile.

Cloud gave a small smirk back, "Go for it."

And the grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day!

"Aw cloud! You're being social! I'm so proud of you!" Sora spouted ecstatically.

"Yeah, whatever. Well I'm done here, so Sora, Roxas, don't be too late tomorrow and Saix," he glanced up with a hint of worry, "Your house is unnecessarily huge. See ya!" Cloud finished throwing his helmet on and swinging a leg over his bike, "Oh yeah! Axel?" He paused. Axel looked up from where he stood as far away from the pavement, or Cloud's range as possible, "You probably have a concussion, so don't sleep or it'll get worse," turning his key in the admission, he rocketed towards the middle of the rather large driveway, and drifted into a very showy exit.

"You have to be kidding me," Axel said with a miserable expression on his face.

"Sorry," Roxas directed at the red head.

"Oh, I'm not mad at you, that was an amazing freaken catch," he responded smiling and rubbing the back of his neck. I know how Axel works around this kid! Roxas could look him strait in the eye then shoot him in the balls and Axel still wouldn't blame him.

"Hey Zex?" I addressed the still very satisfied slate haired teen next to me.

"Hm?"

"Quick question, is your brother gay?"

"Well, no. Or at least I've only ever seen him with girls."

"That's kinda sad. I bet a guy like him could take the grump right out of Cloud! Don't you think?"

"Well, even if he did like guys, I don't think he'd just jump back into dating. Before we came here he had a pretty bad break up with a girl he had been dating for almost two years," said Zexy eyeing his brother who was happily typing away on his phone.

"Oh, that's sad too. He doesn't look too hurt, or at least he didn't."

"Zack wouldn't. No matter how bad things get for him he always smiles."

"Saix! So you've been here? I thought you had plans that were _so _much more important than Man Hunting!" Axel yelled at the older bluenette. He remained unmoved atop that car.

"I did. Those plans were kinda, intercepted about two hours ago," said Saix bitterly staring up at the now visible moon.

"So you were dumped?" I asked prying deeper.

"No, it wasn't a date. I was just moving the sugar gliders to my house, and I got it done, see?" he said jumping off the roof of the car and pulling a small rodent out of his hoody pocket.

"Cutie!" Sora said launching toward the tiny figure in Saix's hand. He lowered his own to pet the small figure, but it hissed and hid in Saix's sleeve.

"Their tired from being moved."

"Saix! What's your car doing on the side of the road? It scared the crap out of me! I thought you were hurt!" Riku shouted at his older brother who repocketed the small rodent.

"I'm sorry, I was supposed to retrieve that a couple hours ago, but father managed to capture my help and has been talking to him ever since.

"What friend of yours could possibly interest OUR dad?"

"Well, he isn't exactly a friend."

**Dear freaken God in heaven! This monstrosity has now been declared closed! Fourty two pages on Word and we have a Man Hunt Story! So how'd you guys like the game? I love it! Especially when I'm chasing! Oh, and remember to guess the video game my fictional sugar gliders got their name from! So please, review and tell all your friends you have a new game to play! And if you do play it, please please PLEASE tell me how it went! **


	7. Can you forgive me?

**It's defiantly the shortest chapter I've written in a while, but it took forever and I'm kinda happy with it. Mostly for Saix. I have to apologize though, song fics aren't really my thing and I didn't mean to bombard you with even more 30 Seconds to Mars, but I was in a slump and this song came on my ipod and kicked me right out of it. It's called 100 suns, LOOK IT UP! Or don't. Anyway, R&R please I love you!**

Schoolyard Antics

**Riku**

We all trudged into my nice warm mansion, high ceilings and white walls shimmering in the dim light of an enormous crystal chandelier dangling from the roof by a set of thick chains. There are two marble spiral stair cases at the end of the hall and a plethora of doors leading every which way. Up, down, and to the North, South, East and West. It wasn't quite to my liking but it wasn't mine to decorate. Demyx, Zexion, Axel, Saix, Reno and Seifer's gang made themselves at home amongst the guest chairs and octagonal fish tank in the very center of the hall while those who'd never been here before (Minus the clearly unphased slate haired boy once more being hauled off by Demyx) gaped stupidly at their surroundings. That's right kiddies, take it all in. Tonight, my home is your home and this home don't come cheap!

I squeezed my boyfriend's hand as he giggled at his friends reactions.

"Hehe they're SO shocked! Roxas looks like he's going to throw up a baby!"

"So you think they'll have a good time then?"

"Fer sure!" He said with a big grin. I just couldn't resist that face. I gave him a small peck on the lips to which he giggled again.

"Fer sure maybe, fer sure not."

"Fer sure eh! Fer sure bomb!" he finished for me. _Fer sure_ by the Medic Driod. It's our favorite song.

"How about we hound Saix some more for ditching us for a teacher?" I suggested.

"Heck yeah!" Sora said as we rejoined our friends in the center of the hall.

"So as I was saying," I started directing my words at my dearest older brother, "You ditched us."

"Actually, considering I had agreed to work with Mr. Xemnas after school before anyone ever asked me to play, I'd say I did nothing of the sort," he responded ever the logical one.

"Yeah, but what really comes first? Playing a game with your dear brother or doing copious amounts of extra work for three hours with your teacher after school?"

"The one that makes the man in charge of my grade happy."

"Screw you too!" I responded. It was more out of brotherly love than spite, but I found it completely necessary.

"You know, we were just wasting time after school until Man Hunt. If you just needed help moving the cage we could have done it," Axel chimed in sitting next to Sora's brother on a large rosy pink couch.

Saix shrugged, "Woops."

That was typical. It wasn't in Saix's nature to explain himself. In fact, most of the time it seems like all he ever does is for his own benefit. I of course knew better than that. I know Saix better than anyone.

We watched as one of our butlers emerged from a door beyond the stair case holding a silver platter littered with empty or nearly empty Cups, bowls, plates and various silverware. He nodded a quick good evening to the group of teens before continuing to make his way to the kitchen. Third door from the left then fourth door on the right.

"Hold up Jeeves," Axel demanded rudely as the butler once again halted his actions, "Are they almost done in there?"

"They seem to be absorbed in a heated debate at the moment, I'm not quite sure," he responded ignoring the nick name.

"Are they at least playing nice?" I asked doubting the intentions of my father. If you knew him, you would understand.

"Oh yes. The master seems to be enjoying the company very much. He rarely finds time for such social meetings you know."

"Thank God! I'd really rather avoid having class ransacked by mobsters in the near future," Saix said in an unamused tone.

"Would your dad really do that?" Sora asked whispering into my ear.

"No way," I responded leaving it at that. I knew he wouldn't, but I wasn't going to give Sora the idea that he was a particularly virtuous person. I'd witnessed what he could do. A Journalist wrote an article about him once claiming that he was a dangerous two faced con artist with a hidden agenda. That man is now serving a fourteen month sentence in jail for crimes I know for a fact he didn't commit.

Saix dismissed the servant with a "Thank you."

"Sounds like we have a little time. Do you want to go get your car?" Axel asked Saix.

"Axel, you probably have a concussion, I'm not going to let you drive," he responded coldly.

"Yeah, but Fu has her truck. It'll get you out of that pit in a heartbeat!" he said continuing on.

The three of us turned towards the small bluenette. She was curled into a ball fast asleep on an arm chair using one arm for a pillow while her two friends talked quietly next to her.

"I think at this point it would be best to get those who are staying situated into their rooms."

"Oh! Oh! I call staying in Riku's room!" my adorable brunette angle announced gripping my arm.

"Oh NO you do not!" Zack said utterly shutting him down.

"Aw! But- Come on! It won't be a problem! I promise I'll be good!" he argued

"I don't think so! Letting Roxas superman dive out a moving car is bad enough! I'm not going to let Cloud know you stayed in the same room as your boyfriend!"

"Well, then don't tell him!"

"I don't think so!"

"Ugh! Why?"

"BECAUSE I'M NOT LOSING YOUR BROTHER'S GOOD GRACES BECAUSE OF SOME MINDLESS ANIMALISTIC BUTT FUCKING!"

"Ahem?"

Enter: My repulsed looking father and Saix's teacher who also wore a questionable expression. Score one Zack.

Sora immediately detached from my arm. Though he'd never seen my father before, there was no question that this tall man with his long silver hair and very commanding disposition was the proprietor of this home. Did I just say proprietor? Man, I'm turning into Saix!

"Saix, my entrance hall is full of teenagers," he stated turning to my older brother who was between us, "Why?"

Everyone in the room froze, including my brother who had been addressed. No one was really ready for this situation. In fact, no one else had even seen my father before; or at least, not in person.

"I apologize; we were just showing them to their rooms-"

"And why wasn't I asked if you may have company? This is my house after all, I pay the bills, not you," he said coldly. I cringed. It wasn't fair that Saix take the blame when he wasn't involved. I attempted to speak up but he took a step back, silencing me.

"If it is an issue then I'll send them home immediately," he stated showing no sign of weakness.

Dad examined the twenty one of us all gathered in one small area, "It's fine for tonight but I expect you to be more respectful in the future."

"I will," Saix said, "I'm sorry. Riku, get them situated in the upper West wing."

"Got it ," I said directing the group toward the stair case to the right. Rai effortlessly picked up his huddled friend and carried her bride style as he, Seifer and the rest of my shaken acquaintances followed. Saix held up a hand stopping the progression of my boyfriend who seemed a little more distraught than the others.

"Hold out your hands."

As he did so Saix plucked the still very testy rodent like creature from his hoodie pocket and placed it in his hands, "Return this to his cage please."

"Oh sure!" Sora said retracting it to his chest. He just loves furry cute animals.

"It was very enjoyable talking to you this evening. I rarely have a chance for such informal interactions. I heard my father say from the stair case.

"I feel the same though I'm sure my work load cannot hold a candle to yours. It's just an honor to meet the esteemed Sephiroth," Mr. Xemnas replied nodding his head.

The two shook hands before my father took his leave.

"Well Saix, shall we retrieve your car?" He asked turning to my brother who hadn't moved.

"Please."

"Wait! Mr. Xemnas! You're the anatomy teacher, so you're pretty smart!" Axel said turning from the stairs to meet the two of them.

"I'd like to think so, yes."

"How do I know if I have a concussion?"

Xemnas paused for a second taking in the slightly taller and bruised red head. There was a rip in his pants revealing a small scratch and his usually unruly spikes seemed to lag as if tired. To anyone who hadn't seen what had happened, it looked like he had been jumped.

"Aquatic amphibians breathe using three different methods. Through the gills, lungs, and skin. The hellbender however only breathes using one method. Which of the three is it?" the teacher quizzed ignoring his outward appearance. By this I assume Axel was a Zoology student.

"Um, gills right? Wait, hellbender? I don't- was that on the slide show? Ow." Axel responded hurriedly.

"Yes it was. Well memory loss is a prominent sign of any head trauma."

"You know, I wouldn't go on that one alone," Axel said honestly.

"I'd assume not. Do you feel like you're in a fog? Maybe you're body seems a bit heavy?"

"Yeah kinda."

"Okay, close your eyes and stand still, how do you feel?"

Axel did as he was told. He couldn't quite stop his body from swaying though, "Like I'm going to puke."

"Then yes, you show several signs of a concussion. It's best not to sleep while you still show them or they'll get worse or stay longer," he told the teen.

"Dang, but I'm SO tired!"

"Your choice, not mine. I just prefer you take care of yourself," Xemnas said.

Axel groaned and stalked away.

"Alright, shall we go?" Xemnas asked turning once more to my brother. He nodded and they exited together, which made me feel a little uneasy.

"I broke Axel, didn't I?" Roxas asked me returning from beyond the stair case.

"Yeah, but I'd take pride in knowing you did it in the most epic way possible," I responded as said pyro rejoined the group. Now business was in order.

"Alright guys, those of you staying here move to the right side of the hall and those of you leaving the left," I said watching the group of chatty teens separate themselves.

"Wait, why aren't you guys staying?" Hayner asked from across the hall to his friends. Olette and Namine were on their cell phones most likely calling for a ride, so Pence answered for them.

"Olette has to deliver mail tomorrow for a friend, Namine has to put up posters around town, and I'm on trash duty, so we all have to wake up pretty early."

"Not us!" Kairi chimed in also against the opposite wall, "Mom just doesn't want us sleeping over with a bunch of boys."

"Did you tell her like 90% of them are gay?" Hayner asked looking around at everyone in the hallway.

"It doesn't matter to her. If it doesn't have a cervix and ovaries it can get us pregnant and that's scary for her."

"As fun as the female reproductive system is I'd like to figure this out! So Rai, take Fu to the room at the end of the hall and you can have the one across from it," Riku said, the tall tan idiot complying, "Now who wants to keep Axel awake all night?"

**Saix**

The chain connecting my bumper to his stressed as we both eased on the gas, me in reverse with him pulling me out of the pit. It didn't take much effort to loosen my car, just an even pace and before I knew it, I had been freed. I almost wish it would have lasted longer. To be honest I was trapped in my thoughts throughout the entire endeavor; how dumb my friends are and how lucky my brother is to have me, but most of all what Cloud had told me while we were waiting for Man Hunt to finish:

_I don't fear heights like many people I know and spiders don't give me so much as the chills. Blood is no greater then water in my mind, snakes could never surprise me and even the biggest and scariest of men wielding a knife could not faze me, I know because I've been there. What really scares me is my father, and at this very moment my beloved teacher is alone with him. How could this have happened you ask? Well, it's simple. After setting up Maria and James' cage I offered to make Mr. Xemnas a quick cup of coffee before we left once more, and who do you suppose we ran into on the way to the kitchen? That's right, for once in his life my father had finished his work for the week and apparently beyond. So having had little chance to interact with someone over the age of twenty, he so rudely stole my company in favor of a little "light conversation". That son of a bitch!_

_And so here I am, forty five minutes into their little meeting, outside watching the moon glide slowly across the sky. Xemnas, is he bothering you?_

"_Excuse me? I'm here to drop off some clothes for my brothers."_

_Oh shit! Someone's outside the gate and I didn't even notice!_

"_Of course!" I called leaping down from atop my perch: Loz's black hummer, brand new. He likes his ride big. Just outside my gate the mystery motorcyclist sat patiently waiting for me to allow him entrance; so I did just that._

"_Thanks. I'm not sure how I would have gotten in if you weren't out here," said the man removing his protective cranial gear (yeah, I know what I said). Hey, I know this guy….. Demyx's mythology teacher, right? Well, I guess technically Mr. Sparrow's the mythology teacher._

"_You could page someone using the intercom."_

"_The one that's out of order?"_

"_What?"_

_My new blond guest motioned just beyond the gate. Taking the signal, I approached the box to find a sloppily written 'out of order' note attached to the speaker. Damn it!_

_I held down the button, "Why Kadaj?"_

"_I think one guest is enough for tonight!"_

"_Don't you have any friends?"_

"…"

"_Then try the internet. That's what any normal reject would be doing on a Friday night!"_

"_O-*sniffle*- okay…."_

"_That's actually pretty sad," Cloud intervened._

"_I know, but it wouldn't be that way if he wasn't a sadistic brat," I said returning back to my waiting spot, bringing the unwanted piece of debris planted by my pest of a brother with me. _

"_So….. How long until they get here?" Cloud asked leaving his motorcycle in favor of leaning against my brother's car. _

"_Well, it's 8:07, so like an hour."_

"_That sucks, I should leave Sora and Roxas' stuff here then, shouldn't I?"_

"_If you don't want to meet the victorious team at the finish line," I said. It doesn't matter to me whether he stays or goes…._

"_I couldn't care less."_

"_Really? Sometimes it's pretty worth it. I mean, when Seifer loses he usually blows his top," but having him here makes time move much faster._

_I'm sure that if it wasn't so dark I'd be able to see that smirk plastered across his smug blond face, "Alright, then I'll stay."_

_And then it got quiet._

"_Back to that reject statement, why are you out here all alone on a Friday night?"_

I thought back, unwillingly _~Have you ever wanted something completely unobtainable? Something money can't buy and no one can give you?~_

"_Was that supposed to be an inward thought?"_

_Now I'm glad that it's so dark because I don't blush too often, and it's not something I generally like to showcase, "Um yeah, it was. Sorry."_

"_Do you want me to answer it anyway?"_

_I thought for a second, "Why not."_

"_You're in love."_

"_Well, I uh, I wouldn't go that far."_

_He shifted in though, or so I assume. I hate myself for talking. Tonight, it was like I'm a different person. I've aquired mannerisms I'd never imagine developing in the past. It scared me._

"_Regardless you should go for it because it's so hard to find real happiness after high school, and you don't exactly strike me as someone who's had too many good days as it is. It's better not to regret life now."_

"_And if it's dangerous?"_

"_Then it wasn't my idea. Got it?"_

_I nodded my head. What's with people today?_

End thought.

"And there you are little song bird. Free at last," Xamnas said meeting me just outside my car. I opened my car door to join him once more on the hillside. If my night ends here I'd like it to end formally.

"I don't know how to thank you for all you've done today," I said averting my gaze. Kinda formally.

"Not at all, it's actually been quite fun."

"I'm not sure how fun moving a cage, talking to my father and prying my car from a ditch could be."

"Nonsense, it was far more entertaining than a night grading papers. But still, I feel as though I deprived you of a good time with your friends."

"I wouldn't worry about that. I agreed to take the animals first and I can Man Hunt any night. I can't say the same about abducting my teachers for three hours."

"Very true," he chuckled.

And so here we are: in the dark, on a mountain; a breath away from what I'd tried to delay, the dreaded night alone. Accept he's still here, for now…. And that's when the music in my head began playing.

_I believe in nothing, not the end and not the start_

"And the moon," I said. I admit, I was keeping him here, but I wasn't sure why. Once again, my body was thrown into auto pilot, only this time I was so unsure.

"What about it?"

"I feel like it made tonight a little better too."

_I believe in nothing, not the Earth and not the stars_

"You're right. A very beautiful crescent moon."

"Yeah. I remember my mother used to tell me, when the moon is like this it's really the Cheshire cat, smiling down on us right before he vanishes."

"How very creative. I bet you really miss your mother."

"You know, not as bad as a child should. I think I kind of saw it as an unmovable, unchangeable fact."

_I believe in nothing, not the day and not the dark_

"And if your mom returned?"

"I'd treat her like she never left."

I heard him give an amused "Hm".

"That's very kind of you. There aren't many people out there who'd just accept someone who wronged them so easily back into their lives."

"What about you?"

"What's that?"

_I believe in nothing but the beating of our hearts_

For the last time tonight, the Earth seemed to turn a little slower, so slow I thought it'd never end. Reaching across the small distance between us, I wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him softly down as I gently pressed my lips against his.

"Can you forgive me?"

_I believe in nothing, 100 suns until we part_

**Fin! So please, review so I have the will to write more! But mostly, I'd like to know how I handled the atmosphere of this whole endeavor. Too much focus on the inner struggle? Not enough detail? AGH! TELL ME! AND TELL ME IF I'M TOO INVOLVED WITH 30STM CUZ SOMETIMES I TAKE IT TOO FAR! K! Love you some more! On the menu for next time: How about some AkuRoku and a little more Seiner? Shouldn't be as long as the last!**


	8. What Part of This Story Was Funny?

**Dear Allen, I know you don't read fanfiction, but this one's for you! So yeah, I wrote some more! Claps for Sarah! Please review. I didn't get any for the last one! I take spiteful reviews too so please send your death threats! Awesome, now time to commence with the reading. **

Schoolyard Antics

**Riku**

Once things had calmed down and everyone was in their rooms, I decided it was time to play the responsible brother, so I waited in the hall for Saix to return in order to thank him properly for tonight. To be honest I don't like that Saix covers for me so much. He's an amazing person and an even better brother; I owe him some recognition in the very least.

The wait wasn't very long, but I could feel myself grow more and more tired with every tick of the antique clock dangling across from me. At 11:21, I could hear his soft footsteps slowly trudge their way toward me.

"Riku? I didn't ask for you to wait," he said as he approached his door.

"Well too bad. I just wanted to thank you for all your help today. Dad would have fried me and sent our friends home."

"Precisely. That's why you need to be more careful with large groups. Having Sora here is one thing….."

"I know, it's just that I-" looking into those icy eyes, it was easy to see he'd rather skip the conversation and retreat back to his room, but when I saw his shaking hands…

"Hey, are you alright? You're shaking."

"Hm? Yes, I'm fine. It was just a bit chilly and I've spent most of my night outside," he responded dropping his gaze to his shaking fingers.

"But it was at least fifty tonight, a lot warmer than it's been for months."

"Well, you know me. I can't stand any temperature below eighty. Anyway, it's been a long day and I'm very tired," he said stepping past me and into his room.

"Oh, well goodnight then."

I may not be his twin but I'm sure everything is not okay.

**Seifer**

There was only one thing I really liked about this little room arrangement: We all smoked. This way we're pretty much never alone because if one of us needs to take a little break, then chances are the other two do too. Plus while were out Axel can direct us to the nearest bathroom, that way those of us who've never stayed the night here don't get lost. The down side was-

"Pyramids suck dude it's like killing yourself desperately not pleasantly."

"You won't have to worry about that Diva, cuz by the end of tonight I'll have killed you painfully. Then it really doesn't matter what my cigarettes do to you. Now smoke or forget it yo!"

That I was put with these loud obnoxious brothers! That's right, job one: keep Axel awake. Job two: Keep Reno and Axel from breaking themselves or the plethora of expensive shit in this house.

_Well why's Reno in this to begin with Seifer? Can't you handle that insane pyro by yourself? _Sorry losers, the answer's no. I mean, he's insane and a pyro. You spend the night with him. He'll set you on fire. The only one insane enough to kick the sleeping lion awake again is his equally insane brother so you know what, I'll take it.

"You can have a Marlboro if you want," Zexion said keeping eyes forward, flicking his cig off the balcony. Oh yeah, and he was here already.

"Thank you Zexion. See? He understands my needs."

"If I poke you in the temple, will you throw up?" Reno asked in return.

The answer is yes. I hate this night already.

"So Zex," Axel said wiping his mouth, "I hear you've been hanging out with Demyx a lot this week."

"Well, if hanging out is when he manages to find you then not leave."

"Yeah, that's basically what it's like for the first couple months. But of course once Demyx enters your life you just can't imagine it without him."

"That's very sweet," Zexion responded taking another drag of his cigarette.

"So I think you should make up for that awkward first couple of months and get in his pants now," Axel threw in settling down on a nice soft patio chair.

Oh gods of subtlety, will you never shine down upon this one?

Zexion took one last drag of his cigarette before putting it out and throwing it over the edge into a web of branches, just below the deck. "Well, have a good night."

"If Demyx never dates that guy, it's probably because of that statement yo."

"Hey now, I'm just the voice of truth. It's only suggested that you listen to my words."

"This is like the fourth time you three have come out here in the last two hours! Seriously guys, aren't you the least bit concerned about the health risks?"

Well what do you know; the king of Man Hunt himself enters stage left.

"Your concern is touching but I find it weird that you're counting," I responded coolly.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't be counting if you'd pick some other balcony to smoke on! Seriously there's at least four in this area alone! Why do you keep picking the one right outside my room? You're so freaken loud!"

"Well I didn't know your room was here. Why do we come to this balcony Axel?"

He shrugged, "Because we're so freaken loud?"

"And there you have it. Why not join us princess its only one more deadly stunt you can add to your list," I said smugly. Not smart though because this kid works peer pressure like a pretzel.

Steeling my cigarette from my hand, he took a MASSIVE drag then blew the smoke right into mine, Axel's, and Reno's faces.

"I don't like it," he said handing back my cigarette. If I'd have been alone, I would have burned him with it, but lucky for him I took the fact that he didn't attack me personally as a compliment.

"Well, I've never been so disrespected in my life!" Axel said shaking out his jacket.

"And neither have I! Come dear brother. We leave this surly character!" Reno said putting out his cigarette and putting it back in his pack. Axel did the same before they linked arms and opened the glass door to the house.

"Wait you idiots, I'm not done!" I shouted before they could close the door on me.

"Oh, you can make it back by yourself. I'll put a sticky note on the door, just in case," Axel said before removing himself from our presence. Leave me alone with his blond nightmare will ya? Alright bitches, just hope I don't find that room!

"They left us alone," Hayner said watching uncomfortably as the two turned a corner. "Well, bye."

"Oh no blondy, you're not leaving me too."

"Well, what am I supposed to do out here alone with you?" he asked turning from the door to look at me.

"We could argue?"

"Thanks but I think I'm good for the next couple days," he said opening the door.

"Good," I said standing over him and pushing it closed. "Then we can just talk."

"Talk?" he questioned, stepping to the side so I was no longer hovering over him.

"Yeah. Think of it as momentary truce."

"Okay," he said wandering to a nearby chair and taking a seat, "So, why do we fight so much anyway?"

Hm, good question.

"Because you're any annoying whiney prick and I'm an ass hole who likes to put people in their place?"

"You see that's the kind of statement we start fighting over."

"Well it's true! Explain to me what life would be like if I wasn't there cutting you down in your pitiful self-absorbed prime!"

"Enough with the adjectives, I know what I'm like."

"Sorry, just don't get a chance like this too often."

"Yeah yeah, I know, but it's still pretty stupid, huh?"

Resist the witty come back, "Exactly what's stupid now?"

"Weren't….. we having fun before Man Hunt?" he asked. I could tell he was having just as hard of a time being civil as I was.

"Yeah, I guess we really were."

"See! We could be friends but we fight instead."

"About that whole friend's thing, most of your friends are girls and most of mine think like girls, so if you're suggesting we start getting friendly they'll be all over us asking how the other is in bed."

He looked a little annoyed and embarrassed at this, "I'm not saying we should go skip through a meadow of flowers holding hands! I'm just saying-"

"That life's easier when you add drugs?"

"It can make it harder too. Roxas is going to vocally murder me because of your little _reaction_."

Aw yes, what he truly wants to talk about, "But hey! In the very least you can say you've kissed the esteemed Seifer Almasy."

"Fuck you. You know it wasn't a kiss. I can hardly remember it anyway."

"Don't sound so disappointed there princess. If you play your cards right I'll give you a real kiss that you'll never forget," I said throwing the butt of my cigarette into the wood below and leaning forward.

"Come near me and I'll kill you."

"Yeah, deal. Well, it's been fun, but I have an Axel to watch, so try not to dream too much about me tonight," I said lifting myself from my comfy chair and opening the door. The second I'd gotten back into the building, I just stood there, looking deep into the hallway. There's something wrong with a house that's so big you can't see the end.

"You sure you know how to get back to your room?" The smug bastard asked standing just behind me.

I sighed.

**Roxas**

"I think he fell asleep," I said with my ear pressed against the wall.

"God finally! I'm out of here!" my twin said leaping from the bed to the floor.

"Off to the boyfriend's room?" I asked rising from the floor and giving my poor little knees a rest.

"Yep! You going to stop me?"

"Psh! I don't care what you do. Just make sure you get back here before Zack wakes up or he'll kill you with scissors."

"Well, the same goes for you. You're going to pay Axel a little visit, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I just feel bad though. My intentions are way cleaner than yours."

"My intentions are just fine thank you! Sheesh, you guys act like I'm a whore or something."

"Well, there's just something about how you two act in public," I said as we walked to the door together.

"You mean like a real couple? You wouldn't understand Roxy. You've never really experienced the beauty of finding the perfect person."

We took a cautionary step outside. If Zack was still awake, he would have caught us before we'd even left the room. He's just a ninja like that.

"Speaking of which, go easy on Axel, will ya? I think that's enough damage for tonight."

**Sora**

Being cooped up in a room with my brother is as boring as it gets. There were a couple points there when I was tempted to just give up and go to sleep, but that's no fun, is it? That's why I find it way better to take my chances and find my darling Riku! Oh the love that we share!

I know exactly how to get to his room, take a right in the second hall way and follow it to the end. I'm not going to lie; this mansion was super creepy to walk around at night. By the time I'd gotten to his hall way I was practically at a run. When I saw him curled up in the middle of the hallway though, I started sprinting.

"Riku! Why are you-"

"Shh!" This wasn't right! He was hugging his knees crying softly. Riku? My Riku? Whats going on?

I sat down next to him, "Are you alright?"

He nodded his head then motioned to the door next to him. That was Saix's room. I remember where all of his brothers' rooms are. He was so happy when he showed me around; I thought it would make him happier if I knew his home a little better.

I sat still for a second listening. There was a mass of sobs coming from inside.

"What happened?" I asked more than a little alarmed. This WAS Saix's room, right? I can't even imagine him crying! He's practically inhumane!

"I don't know, when he came home he was shaking but he told me it was just cold outside," he said wiping the tears from his eyes. "I didn't believe him so I decided to wait by the door. He's been crying for three hours!"

I didn't know what to say. I'm not a family therapist and I don't know Saix that well, but I knew neither he nor my Riku should be crying right now. We had a fun night! What was going on? I don't get it! I DON'T!

"Saix…. Doesn't cry. He just doesn't. When we found out mom wasn't coming back, I cried hysterically and so did Kadaj. Loz cried too and Yazoo looked extremely betrayed. But Saix, he didn't even ask why. The only time I ever saw him cry was when I was four and dad was drunk and smacked him. And then it was mom who held him and made everything better! I want to help him but he's too closed off! If I told him I knew about this he wouldn't tell me the truth! If I pretend I don't know it'll just get worse!"

"Riku, you're an amazing brother," I said for lack of a better statement. He let his chin rest on his knees. "You care about him so much!"

"Well, someone has to….."

That statement hurt even me. Was this family really that broken?

"Listen to me. I think that maybe….. You should just trust him for now. He's not going to let you in," I saw another tear run down his face and disappear into his jeans. That statement hurt me too! If it wasn't so true none of this would be happening! "But you shouldn't forget this. Talk to him later. For now, you need to go to sleep. Come on," I said pulling him by the hands and forcing him to his feet. His room was a few doors down on the opposite side of the hall.

"I love all my brothers you know," He added leaning against me for support, "But Saix is the one I look to for everything. I can't watch him be upset."

"I know. It'll be alright, I promise!" I said opening the door for him. I watched another tear fall to the floor before we both entered the room. I swear to GOD if Riku doesn't find out what's wrong with Saix, I will!

**Back to Roxas**

_Crash!_

"Hey idiot! Don't fall asleep! You're going to go into a coma and never wake up!"

"That's stupid! You don't know anything about medicine! Why should I listen to you?"

"Well your teacher does! Listen to him!"

"Xemnas didn't say anything about a coma!"

Yep, this was Axel's room. Well, it only took twenty minutes but since I finally made it I better go in; especially with all that yelling going on.

I gave three sharp knocks and took a step back.

"WHAT? Oh, Hey Axel, it's for you!"

Peering into the room I saw Axel who was laying on the bed remove the pillow he'd been clutching to his head.

"Oh, hey Roxy what's up?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," I said staying right where I was.

"And not a moment too soon yo, I need to step out for a smoke," Reno said grabbing his jacket from behind the door and pulling me into the room before shutting it roughly behind him.

"Don't be shy Roxy, take a seat!" Axel said sitting up in the bed.

"Okay. Why is there a pink sticky note on your door?" I asked taking his suggestion and sitting on the floor next to him.

"Oh, we put it on the door like twenty minutes ago so Seifer could find our room again after he finished smoking."

"Then why isn't he here?" I asked looking around to make sure he wasn't hiding in the shadows somewhere ready to beat me up. Can't say it would have surprised me.

"I don't know, probably because we ditched him about an hour ago."

I blinked, "Well that's rude."

"What can I say, we're just rude people."

"Hey Axel, why do you and your brother fight like that?" I asked unsure of what to say to keep things from getting awkward, "I mean, Sora and I fight but we don't have screaming wars like you two."

"Yeah, we're pretty loud, aren't we? It's kind of a habit actually. Ever since we were little we've been fighting over everything."

"But you guys still like each other, right?"

"Oh us? Yeah defiantly! We're as close as it gets. I remember a couple years ago we made a pact with each other. Even when we're old and have families, we have to live in the same town."

"Th-that's actually very cute!" I giggled, "Hey, so how old is he anyway?"

"He's twenty four."

"TWENTY FOUR? Dang! Why is he just starting college?" I asked surprised. I heard of people taking a year off before starting college, but that was strait up procrastinating! Or so I thought.

Axel's gaze softened.

"Well, Reno didn't exactly get to finish high school. He was kind of a bad student, always skipping class and stuff. His grades had been terrible since grade school, it's amazing that he managed to even get into high school. When he got held back, he sort of just gave up."

"So he dropped out?" I asked trying to be a little more understanding.

"Not quite, he was pulled out."

How bad do your grades have to be to get pulled out of school? I know plenty of people failing more than half of their classes because of laziness but every one of them just gets a slap on the wrist then sent on to the next year.

"Reno had a drug problem for a while in junior year. Our parents made him quit school and sent him to rehabilitation in another town so he could get clean," Axel finished with a smirk. Not something I'd smile at but whatever.

"Oh, that's so sad…." I mumbled tucking my knees into my chest.

"Na, that's history now! I remember every once in a while I would steel my parents car and drive down to go see him; that's how I learned to drive! But he'd just get mad and tell me I should be in school. Our parents weren't so thrilled either. I did it anyway though, whenever I just couldn't stand it….. How much I missed him," he slumped off the bed next to me in the same position. Wow. I didn't mean to bring back any intense memories. I'm actually sorry I asked.

"So…. He got his GED?"

"Yep! And now he's going to community college. He wants to join the police force so he can help people like him."

"Well that's a good goal! You know with his driving and ability to ambush people I think he'd be perfect for the force!" I said smiling over at Axel. He nodded and smirked back.

"I know, it's almost scary. I just hope he doesn't catch me doing anything wrong because knowing him he'd throw me in jail the second he caught me to teach me a lesson!" He said before leaning over against me. "So what about you Roxy? How's your family doing?"

My family? Well….. "I love them to death, but I kind of miss the days when it was just me and Sora. Back then I thought it was annoying that he was always right there with me, always bouncing around being all happy."

"Then Riku stepped in?"

I nodded.

"But you two live with your older brother, right? What's up with that?"

I thought for a second. Well, Axel shared his sad Reno story, I might as well. "When Sora and I were in eighth grade we decided to come out to our parents. Thing is, they're super religious. They told us they loved us and it was okay, but a month later they sent us off to live with the good brother Cloud who was smart enough to keep his sexuality to himself. It all worked out though, on top of paying for his college our parents now pay for the rent so he could quit his full time job and take care of us. You know Cloud though. He's too proud to do it. It kills him to even let them pay rent, but if they didn't we'd starve."

Axel laughed. Um, what part of this story was funny? I glared at him.

"Sorry! I'm not laughing at your story! It's just, we're kinda messed up, aren't we?"

"Yeah, a little. But I think everyone is. You know, it's just a fact of life."

He nodded in agreement still leaning against me, then we sat in the silence for a while. That wasn't exactly okay with me.

"Axel? Why'd we just start hanging out?"

"Hm? Because you and your noisy friend interrupted my zen."

"But I saw you almost every day since my freshmen year. If I was eating lunch you were in the library window laughing with you friends above my table. When I had detention I saw you walk by the room. It's weird but I thought you were stalking me for a while there."

Axel sat up strait. Did I just say something funny again?

"I wasn't stalking you, or at least I didn't see it that way. Knowing you were there just made me feel a little better."

I wasn't expecting that.

"Really?" I asked a little uncomfortable, "Why me?"

"Because every time I saw you with you with your friends, it was like watching you play mommy. Remember that first day of school and Seifer, Rai and Fu decided to give you guys a little 'Welcome to high school?'"

"Yeah, Hayner threw the first punch so I poured water on both him and Seifer the dragged him away."

"Yep! Freaken priceless! Then I remember walking past you in a random hallway one day. You were just holding that incredibly white friend of yours while she cried."

"Namine? I remember that. She rejected a guy, so he started spreading rumors about her saying she had syphilis. Sora and I beat the crap out of him later that day!"

"Oh, so that's what happened. I remember seeing four security guards dragging you and your brother away from some kid with a bloody nose on the floor."

"Yeah, the month of detention was worth it. You can't mess with my friends, you just can't!"

"Exactly! After that it became a habit to see you at least once a day. It was like Where's Waldo, only you're not a tall weirdo with glasses and a stripe fetish."

"No, I'm not. I don't get it though; you are NOT a shy person. You could have talked to me sooner," I said blushing a little.

"You know I really wanted to," He paused for a second, keeping his gaze locked forward, "Demyx is practically in love with that Jared Leto guy, but he's scared of meeting him in person because he doesn't want to find out that everything he'd pictured him as was wrong and he's really a huge douche. That's kind of like what I was thinking. The only reason I talked to you Monday was because I knew I wouldn't get a better chance."

"I'm not that great you know," I said feeling a little uncomfortable again. So is he practically in love with me too?

"For me, it was just something fun to believe in."

"Well, did I disappoint?" I asked a little uneasy with my question. I know he'd never say yes, but I didn't want to even think he was lying.

I wasn't so surprised with the response I did get however. Gently grabbing my chin he tilted my head to the side just enough to press his lips softly against mine. My entire body warmed and my lips tingled.

"Not even in the slightest," he said flashing a genuine smile. I blushed furiously in return. I couldn't believe how happy this made me. I found it impossible to hide my smile.

"I know this is a question you're supposed to ask before the first kiss, but would you go out with me?" he asked staring straight forward once more. Cute! Turns out he and I are both too awkward for our lives!

I closed what little space there was between us, scooting right up against his body, "I'd love to!"

"Really! Thank god!" He said completely thrilled leaning against me once more. Funny, I've dated before, but I don't think any of those times made me quite as happy as this.

It got quiet for a second before realization hit both of us.

"Where the fuck is Reno?" Axel asked looking at a clock on the wall.

**Roxas: The next morning**

I woke up to an incredibly sharp pain in my neck. Ah, ow. Why'd I fall asleep sitting up? I tried to move from this incredibly uncomfortable spot, but something heavy on my lap kept me from doing so. I glanced down. Axel's upper torso had me pinned to the floor. Axel?

I blushed and smiled as I remembered last night. So Axel's my boyfriend now? How cute. My boyfriend is sleeping on my lap. Wait, my boyfriend is sleeping on my lap? Shit! Axel wasn't supposed to fall asleep!

"Axel," I mumbled shaking him slightly he only groaned and curled up a little more, "Hey Axel? AXEL!"

"WHAT?" He screamed shooting up in surprise, "Dear fucking God in heaven!" he added rubbing his head between his hands.

"I'm sorry, we fell asleep," I said shifting towards him on my knees.

"It's alright; I wasn't going to stay up anyway. I just can't," he said rubbing his eyes now, "So exactly what happened last night? Are we dating now or was that just a dream?"

I smirked, "No, we're dating now."

"Yaaaaay…." he said falling over face first and gripping me around the waist.

"Maybe we should get you some food," I suggested watching him stretched out like a cat attached to me.

"Nooooo…" he said from where he laid face down.

"Oh, well um, maybe we should leave the room so Zack doesn't kill me."

"Yeeaaah…..."

**Reno**

I groaned. Something was touching my face! Something soft, it tickled. Okay that's not alright with me. I swatted at the undesired object and rolled onto my side.

"Hehehehe!"

What the hell?

I opened my eyes to see little girl holding a feather. Da fuck man?

"Excuse me? Are you five?" I asked staring straight into her face.

"No, I'm thirteen," she said defensively.

"Then you're old enough to hate mornings yo. Run along teeny bopper,"

"I'm a boy idiot!"

"Oh, my mistake. Your voice will change one day son," I said rolling onto my stomach this time before falling back asleep.

That didn't last long. I could feel eyes burning through to my brain!

"Are you still watching me?" I asked eyes opening in furry. Um….

"Kids sure grow up fast," I said greeted with the sight of a much older version the pest I'd just shooed off. He was kneeling at face level next to me.

"Not quite," he said blinking, "I was just wondering why you're sleeping on my couch."

"Oh yeah, my brothers got some company and, um- you're a he too, right?" I asked sitting up. Okay, this family is confusing! He/she/it doesn't have boobs but his/her/its face is prettier than EVERYONE I've ever dated! And you know what? So was his/her/its brother!

"Yeah, I'm a he," he said not even a little offended. Must be a common thing.

He was wearing a black sweater that hung off the shoulders with grey pants and black leg warmers. You really can't blame me for not getting that he was a guy right away.

"So I take it you just got back from a hot date?" I asked rubbing my eyes and sitting up strait.

"Yep! Guy was hot," he said standing up strait and giving a cute little yawn, "But he wasn't that good," he added with a wink.

"I'm Reno," I said standing.

"Yazoo. Nice to meet you Reno," he said holding out a hand for me to shake. I took it.

"You know, there's about a hundred other rooms in this house, next time you're kicked out of your room, you can just take your pick," still gripping my hand, he pulled me closer, "Depending on the room you pick you might even get lucky," he said before letting go and walking away. Weird, for a skinny guy he's very strong.

**Seifer**

I literally rolled out of bed, landing painlessly on my hands and knees. What time is it? Climbing back onto the mattress I grabbed my phone off the side table to check the time. Almost eight? Damn it's too early for this. I stole a pillow from the barricade between me and the queen of insecurities. Yep, in case you're wondering, I never found my way back to my room and Hayner was nice enough to not let me sleep in the hall. Both of us refused to sleep on the floor though, so princess here decided to grab every pillow and seat cushion in the room and create a barrier. Jeez I'm not a rapist!

I tried to fall back asleep but soon enough my mind was filled with blissful images of soothing cancer coursing through my lungs. I guess it's time for my morning smoke. I threw the pillow I'd snatched at the sleeping blond.

"Ugh, what?" he responded not even opening his eyes.

"I'm going out for a smoke."

"What do I care?"

"Just telling you in case you wake up and start feeling lonely." I shrugged pulling on my jacket and heading to the door.

He just grumbled then pulled the pillow under his head in response. Typical, I smirked.

I opened the door and attempted to step out, but something was in my way, causing me to trip and land hard on the floor. I'm sure that woke someone up.

"Fucking shit man!" I shouted rubbing my head and turning to see what had got me. That Zexion kid groaned sitting up and rubbing his side. Also, why the fuck isn't he wearing any pants?

"What was that for?" he asked more than a little annoyed.

"What wa- Why are you sleeping outside my room in your underwear?" I asked getting up.

"YOUR ROOM?" I heard from inside.

"My under-"

He took a second to analyze the situation before turning a very bright shade of red and using his T-shirt to cover himself.

"Um, well I sometimes sleep walk and, and-"

"And you don't sleep in pants," I finished for him. He nodded.

"Alright, let's go," I said pulling him up by the wrist and tugging him into the room, "I'm going to smoke, but you're going to stay in here and barrow Hayner's pants."

So I was ditched last night and this morning I trip over a pant less emo kid with sleep issues. People suck.

**So that's that! A Little insight on Roxas, Axel and Saix's past with some extra drama and a little fluff! It kind of stopped in a weird place but I really wanted to add the little bit about Zexion and his pant less sleep walking. I remember once I sleep walked out of my room and onto the living room couch pant less. My parents came downstairs but when they saw me they just left. Hehe! So I have a couple fanfiction projects to work on now. I've already started a new Cloud/Leon story and I'm intent on re editing my past chapters in this story. Also, I want to morph one of my favorite musical/movie/books into a Kingdom Hearts fic as well! Should be fun! So review please!**


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